Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, has emphasized that projects and programs costing less than Rs 30 million should not be included in the budget for the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2025/26.
He made this statement during separate discussions with officials from the Ministry of Water Supply and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration in Kathmandu on Sunday. The meetings were part of the ongoing budget formulation process for the next fiscal year.
During the discussions, Finance Minister Paudel urged government ministries to move away from the tendency of including numerous small-scale schemes and instead focus on large, transformative, and nationally significant projects that have been adequately prepared. He stressed that the budget should prioritize strategic initiatives that contribute to long-term national development.
Additionally, Paudel highlighted the need to enhance the role of provincial and local governments in project implementation. He suggested that projects within the jurisdiction of provincial and local governments should be handed over to them for execution, even if the central government provides initial seed funding.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Water Supply Pradeep Yadav, Minister for Federal Affairs Raj Kumar Gupta, National Planning Commission (NPC) Vice Chairman Shivaraj Adhikari, as well as senior officials from the Finance, Revenue, Water Supply, and Federal Affairs ministries.
