Govt to fund more district road projects this year

THE government has decided to fund more district roads this year due to increased demand for these regional routes. On Thursday, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport sent proposals for 1,000 district road projects to the National Planning Commission (NPC) for its okay. The government had financed 800 district roads under the Priority Two (P2) category during the last fiscal year. “We have asked for approval for around 1,000 regional roads planned to be built in different districts of the country,” said Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, secretary at the Physical Infrastructure Ministry. He added that such projects would be provided Rs 700,000 to Rs 900,000 are per the criteria for funding them. The proposed road projects were shortlisted from around 8,000 project plans picked from more than 25,000 applications received by the Physical Infrastructure Ministry. Despite the heavy demand for district roads, the ministry had initially selected around 400 projects as they contribute very little to the overall development of the country. “Due to mounting pressure, the ministry was forced to change its plan and sent 1,000 projects for endorsement,” said a ministry official. The NPC is the main government body that gives the go-ahead to projects presented by different ministries. The Physical Planning Ministry had a tough time shortlisting the proposals due to politically influenced pressure from various quarters, and was delayed in sending its recommendation to the NPC. NPC Secretary Yubaraj Bhusal said that the largest number of applications received each year were for road projects. “As roads are very visible projects and are good for getting votes, politicians go for them,” According to the NPC, 80 percent of the requests for funding are for local roads. The government has allocated Rs 900 million for rural road projects in the budget for the current fiscal year. An official at the Physical Infrastructure Ministry said the ministry had shortlisted road projects based on need and the “power of the political party leaders” lobbying for them. The Department of Roads under the Physical Infrastructure Ministry annually allocates Rs 700,000 for district roads connecting business hubs within a district, and Rs 900,000 for roads linking two districts. But department officials said the contribution of such projects to economic development was very little as they were implemented in the interests of people aligned to political parties. The Physical Infrastructure Ministry had received requests for funding for around 25,000 road projects when the budget was being made which is an annual trend, according to a Roads Department official. He added that the number of proposals might have swelled due to this year being election year.