Even after seven decades of planned development system in Nepal, the identification and selection of development projects has not been based on clear criteria. The implementation of the project has not been effective as the budget has been allocated and implemented without the necessary preparation of the project.

In order to complete the construction within the specified time and cost, the project bank needs to make the process of project identification, development and analysis, accounting, selection and prioritization based on objective criteria. 

The project bank is a system of recording the projects that are eligible to be implemented as listed projects after completing all the procedural stages of project preparation to be implemented by the government. Through this, the projects/programs that have passed through the three stages of project identification, project development and analysis, and project accounting, selection and prioritization are listed step by step and are included in the project bank as projects ready for implementation. 

Planning Commission should include only those projects that have been prepared in a phased manner according to the process standards set by the relevant agencies in the project bank. Among the listed projects that are ready for implementation, only the projects that are prioritized according to feasibility and availability of resources are considered to be selected for implementation. 

Efforts related to project banks in Nepal

Economic Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act, 2076 has provided for a national level project bank in the National Planning Commission. There is a legal provision that the budget cannot be allocated for projects that are not included in the National Project Bank. For this purpose, the National Planning Commission has also issued the National Project Bank (Operation and Management) standard in 2081. Likewise, a project bank should be established at the provincial and local levels as well.

Many provinces have prepared procedural standards for project banks. The direction in formulating plans at the local level has directed clear criteria regarding the arrangement of the project bank and the prioritization of projects at the local level. In order to avoid duplication of projects, there is also a provision for systematic interconnection between the three levels of project banks. 

The project bank should include plans according to the standards set by the National Planning Commission. In the case of new projects, the project is listed as an implementable project in the project bank only after three stages of preparation, while the old plans have to be re-prioritized and listed in the project bank.

The National Planning Commission has set a minimum cost limit so that projects costing less than 30 million rupees cannot be proposed. In order to be listed in the implementation preparation stage of the project bank, in the case of infrastructure development projects, the project needs to be identified and the preparatory stage work up to feasibility study, DPR, environmental study, land acquisition should be completed. 

State of implementation

The National Planning Commission has approved the 'National Project Bank Standard 2081' to fully implement the project bank from the current financial year and not to keep fragmented plans in the budget, allocating the budget only to projects worth more than three million rupees. The Minister of Finance had also made a public commitment to this ceiling many times.

The budget was released but the situation did not look like this. As in the past, the ``Khudre Yojana'' with a large number of thousands and a few lakh allocations found a place in the federal budget book. Such plans are seen in almost all development ministries. It is not unheard of to keep such a budget in order to complete the old plans and clean them up.

But such projects had to be handed over to the relevant level of government along with the budget and responsibilities. In the past, there were such exercises. The key is commitment. Until the commitment to the system is clear, the situation will continue like this. 

The first budget after the release of the new project bank norms is for the year 2082/83. This was also the budget to lay the foundation of the project bank system. However, while formulating the annual program and budget, the concerned ministry followed the tradition and violated the standards. This year too, the Ministry of Urban Development has included in the budget hundreds of "thousands and lakhs allocated" infrastructure development projects that have not yet completed their preparation stage.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which is responsible for national highways and strategic roads, has hundreds of such plans. Be it the Ministry of Water Supply or Youth and Sports - there is no difference in the budget trend. 

DPR and land acquisition of most of these schemes are in confusion. Some have made three crores by integrating different plans. In this way, there are many examples where the principles, norms and rules of the budget have been violated. It seems that there is an underlying centralist thinking of having low-budget projects, the desire to show that they have brought the budget to the constituency, the influence of the Asepase, and the implicit intention of entering the program with a small amount of money and making room for later transfer of funds. Another serious matter is the inclusion of schemes which are not listed in the project bank in the annual programme.

The establishment of the three-level project bank was expected to focus on the projects of the three levels of government within their respective jurisdictions. But both the union and the states did not seem to be able to assimilate the list of rights into the planning system. The tendency of all three levels of government to allocate budgets to each other's work area has also made it difficult to ensure which level of government should be responsible and accountable for which work. 

Project The impact of the federal disorganization related to the bank has finally reached the state as well. The provinces also allocated the list of open-ended plans by entering them in the project bank. Gandaki was the leader in advocating the adoption of the project bank system. About 7,000 plans included in this province have such fragmented plans.

While the plans and projects within the province's rights list are worth counting on the fingers, the province has ceased to be a matter of transformative plans. It is clear that the planning system has become a shambles, not only by the opposition, but also by the ruling party, who have accused schemes of up to five lakhs in Madhesh. The incident of Bagmati going one step further and allocating the budget to another province's plan came to the surface. The working group of the ruling party has pointed out that a large number of plans and programs have been entered here illegally. 

At the end of the financial year in Lumbini, the situation of not being able to pay the current year's plan has made it clear how the budget is going. In Karnali province, there has been dissatisfaction that the project has been listed in Hachuwa Bhar Bank. It is alleged that the planning system was not adopted while preparing the budget in Far West. In the data of Koshi Pradesh Yojana Bank, more than 45 thousand schemes have been entered in one year. Looking at this data, it can be estimated that there is a lot of lathaling and corruption in the project bank. 

The way forward

The country has a responsibility to achieve the long-term development goals determined by achieving sustainable development goals until the year 2087 and reaching a high middle-income country and a developed country with a high income level by the year 2100. There is a situation where we have to deal with the scarcity of resources to achieve sustainable development goals. 

The federal government should focus more attention and resources on large infrastructure development plans that are fully prepared for projects such as identification, feasibility studies, construction of DPR, land acquisition, purchase plans, transformative projects and projects that should be considered as national priority projects. The project bank system is necessary to organize the planning system by selecting and prioritizing projects based on the jurisdiction, responsibilities and responsibilities of the three levels of government.

But the practice of entering projects that are not ready for budget allocation overnight has raised a question mark on the propriety of the project bank itself. Looking at the practice, it seems that they do not want to go towards planning discipline and fact-based planning. This has raised the question whether we do not want to improve.

conclusion

The project bank system has been started to avoid allocating budget to any project without prior preparation, to prevent duplication in projects and to maintain planning discipline. It streamlines the project development phase. This system can play an important role in objectifying the development and analysis, accounting, selection and prioritization of the project while removing the shortcomings seen in the implementation of the project. 

To achieve the country's long-term development goals, efficient allocation of resources and project governance are indispensable. Although the National Planning Commission has threatened to stop retail projects through strong legal arrangements this year, it has not been able to maintain planning discipline. While formulating the budget, the implementation of the project bank system was found to be very weak. 

As in the past, the practice of haphazard listing and allocation of schemes has not improved much. The name ``Project Bank'' has not remained as the name of ``Project Bank'' due to the large number of retail projects that have not met the procedural standards and have not had plans that have a national impact and can produce results. Its original purpose and essence has been lost. Attempts have been made by all three levels of government to enter projects randomly and confuse the recognition of ``Project Bank'' as ``Project Bank''.