Kathmandu. Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal has said that there is no need to depend on donor agencies or neighbours for the required budget for the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives and House of Representatives scheduled for March 4.

During a meeting with the newly elected executive committee of the Society of Economic Journalists Nepal (SEJON), Minister Khatiwada said that more than 1,300 projects that have not entered the project bank through the current budget have been found and around Rs 110 billion has been appropriated for these projects.

He said that around Rs 12 billion could be collected for various topics including seminars and meetings in the current budget. He said that the budget will be released after identifying the projects that have not started the work. “Especially, the budget is being released for those projects which would not have been spent after all,” he said.

According to the Finance Minister, the government is preparing to use the remaining amount allocated for the election for reconstruction.

It is estimated that the budget will be less than that this time as the main target of the government is to hold the elections and Rs 25 billion has been spent to hold the three tiers of elections in the past. Khanal, however, said that the budget could increase due to the burning of buildings in some municipalities and security should be given high priority.

The Finance Minister said that the Council of Ministers is doing all works to remove the difficulties faced by the Election Commission. “The Ministry of Finance will make necessary preparations for the budget once the EC completes the necessary preparations,” he said. The government does not have to look to anyone outside or talk to anyone in the neighbourhood for this.

He said that preparations are underway to present the ‘Business Recovery Plan’ prepared by the Ministry of Finance in the cabinet meeting. The recovery plan has been prepared with the involvement of not only the government but all,” he said. According to this plan, a fund will be established. He said that the fund will do three main things.

First, it will provide additional support to the families of those who have lost their lives. Second, it will be spent on rebuilding public infrastructure. Third, the private sector will provide necessary assistance to the damaged structures.

“The private sector will be supported by providing customs exemption on the import of goods required for the construction of structures rather than from the fund,” he said.

Minister Khanal said that the morale of the private sector was high in the meeting and the government was committed to move ahead stronger soon. He said that automobiles and hotels have been especially affected. The industrialists and their own establishments and businesses have been damaged and an environment will be created to recover by giving them concessions in some way or the other.

Finance Minister Khanal said that the immediate priority of the government was to instill confidence among the general public and provide treatment to the injured families and provide financial assistance and compensation to the families of those who lost their lives.

Khanal said that a team has been formed among the Ministry of Urban Development, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and other agencies to collect the data of physical damage caused by the agitation. According to Khanal, the amount for the reconstruction of public bodies and structures has to be withdrawn from the budget and if not, it will be constructed through crowdfunding. Minister Khanal informed that preparations for the same have been completed.