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Meagre small budget hinders road repair
KATHMANDU, MAY 05 -
The government has not provided funds in the amount of Rs. 2.09 billion that was collected from road users as mobility and accessibility charges to the Roads Board Nepal that manages resources for road maintenance activities.
From the fiscal year 2003/04 to the first seven months of the current fiscal year, the government amassed a total of Rs. 6.11 billion -- Rs. 2.96 billion from Nepal Oil Corporation as fuel levy or mobility charge and Rs. 3.14 billion from the Department of Transport Management as accessibility charge from vehicle registration fees.
"Each year, we have been receiving a higher budget in the projection based on revenue collection from fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees," said Deepak Chalise, executive director of the Roads Board Nepal. "Revenue collection from these sources has been increasing every year, but the government has not provided all the dedicated funds."
Nepal Oil Corporation levies Rs. 2 and Rs. 1 per litre of petrol and diesel respectively as mobility charge. Similarly, the Department of Transport Management charges 2 to 3 percent for vehicle registration as accessibility charge from vehicle owners.
During the fiscal year 2003/04, the government had provided Rs. 220 million out of the Rs. 348.67 million collected to the Roads Board Nepal for road maintenance. Tax collection from road users has been rising every year along with the increasing number of vehicles.
The government took in Rs. 1.42 billion during the last fiscal year. "If the government allocates the entire dedicated fund, it will expedite maintenance work and help us to reduce the backlog that has been piling up every year," said an official at the Department of Roads. "There are more than 1,200 km of roads needing periodic maintenance."
Recently, the Department of Roads sought Rs. 6 billion for its annual road maintenance programme for the next fiscal year 2010/11. The budget allocation for periodic and specific maintenance is always less than what is sought, which has also been the reason for the increasing backlog of repair work.
The Department of Roads said that it has not been able to carry out maintenance work effectively for the last 15 years as there was a trend of allocating a small budget for maintenance purposes. Moreover, people are more concentrated on building new roads than preserving the existing ones.
During the next fiscal year, the department plans to do periodic maintenance on 1,281 km of roads nationwide with a proposed budget of Rs. 2.16 billion. However, the Roads Board Nepal has said that it would provide Rs. 1.6 billion to carry out periodic maintenance on 1,000 km of strategic roads.
The Roads Board Nepal has proposed a budget Rs. 3.74 billion for the coming fiscal year 2010/11 to carry out road maintenance work through road agencies. "We have already written to the Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission in this regard," said executive director Chalise.
Posted on: 2010-05-06 09:15
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