पूर्वाधार विकास र बजेट कार्यान्वयन प्रभावकारी बनाउन सांसदहरूको जोडLawmakers Stress Effective Infrastructure Development and Better Budget Execution

Members of the National Assembly Committee on Development, Economic Affairs and Good Governance have urged the government to improve infrastructure implementation and make budget execution more effective. During a committee meeting, lawmakers expressed concern over persistent weaknesses in capital expenditure, project management delays, and slow implementation of development plans.

Committee Chair Krishna Prasad Poudel said infrastructure projects must be implemented with a result-oriented approach. Lawmaker Ghanshyam Rijal noted that Nepal has long struggled with weak budget execution and low capital spending, stressing the need to improve development expenditure to accelerate economic activity.

Several lawmakers also raised concerns about road safety, poor construction quality, delayed payments to contractors, and the slow progress of national pride projects. Concerns were voiced over difficulties in implementing projects requested by lawmakers and delays in major projects such as the Budhigandaki Hydropower Project.

Ministry of Urban Development Secretary Gopal Prasad Sigdel informed the committee that the government has prioritized local roads, suspension bridges, alternative highways, and settlement development programs in the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84 budget. According to him, more than Rs. 14.7 billion will be required for local road and community access improvement programs, while alternative auxiliary highway development will require over Rs. 21 billion.

The government has also announced a “Settlement Development Program” aimed at upgrading market areas and settlement centers in 460 rural municipalities within the next five years. In addition, a “Medium Urban Development Program” has been proposed for municipalities that have not yet received major infrastructure investment. The ministry estimates that nearly Rs. 100 billion in additional resources will be required for the long-term implementation of the program.

The meeting also highlighted drinking water, sanitation, and energy as major priorities. Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Secretary Sarita Dawadi said the government is targeting the production of 35,000 megawatts of electricity within the next decade and emphasized the need for major expansion of transmission lines and energy infrastructure.

Lawmakers stressed that allocating budgets alone would not be enough unless projects are implemented on time with transparency and quality assurance. They argued that despite repeated budget allocations in recent years, delays, weak monitoring, and low capital expenditure have prevented infrastructure projects from delivering the expected economic impact.