KATHMANDU: The government has allocated Rs 9.10 billion for the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Nepal project in the budget for the coming fiscal year.
In the coming year, the government has included programs in the budget to spend Rs 1.1 billion from its own resources and Rs 8.9 billion from US government grants. The MCA Nepal is a mechanism set up to manage and operate the transmission line projects under the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which is being operated in Nepal with US assistance.
The government had allocated more than Rs 10 billion in the current fiscal year to implement this program. Out of that, the reviewed estimate showed Rs. 5.15 billion will be spent by July 2021.
Out of the allocation in the current fiscal year, only Rs 1.35 billion has been spent to buy 385 ropani land in Ratmate of Nuwakot. Apart from that, expenditure has also been incurred on office and staff management. Moreover, there is a possibility of Rs 8 billion freezing as the current fiscal year is coming to an end.
The cabinet meeting had decided on April 25 to allocate sufficient funds for the project.
There has been political controversy in Nepal for two years over the MCC project. Due to political disagreement, the MCC agreement between the US and Nepal, which was tabled in the Parliament, has yet to be passed.
The agreement of the MCC, which was registered for approval on July 15, 2019, is still under consideration in the House of Representatives (HoR).
In the current scenario, ratification from parliament is unlikely as the House is dissolved and political consensus is fraught. However, the government has already started discussing other alternatives to move it forward.
Officials say though alternatives are vague, discussions into them are underway.
Nepali Ambassador to the US Dr. Yuvaraj Khatiwada has consulted with MCC representatives in this regard. Khatiwada has held discussion with Fatima Sumer, Vice President of the Compact Operations Department in Washington D.C.
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