Self-employment fund yet to be disbursed in Far-West

The self-employment bill was passed by the Provincial assembly in May last year, with the objective of providing loans at concessional rates to target groups who want to be self-employed in various sectors like, agriculture and livestock business, home and small scale industries, shops and trade and various organizations, in the Far-West.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning can disburse the loan by incorporating necessary rules and procedures on the basis of the said bill. However, the one billion rupees allocated for the purpose remains unutilized. The government has allegedly amended laws to increase facilities for people's representatives and has been indifferent towards incorporating the self-employment program.

Karna Bahadur Malla, a member of the Provincial Assembly, said that the budget was stalled due to the non-formulation of procedures for bringing relief to the people. He believes that the target group has been deprived of it due to the helplessness and negligence of the government in the formulation and implementation of the bill. The government has allocated Rs 20 Crore as a self-employment fund in the current fiscal year and Rs 40 Crore for the next fiscal year.

Nawaraj Aryal, a spokesman for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning said, “The rules and regulations required for the operation of the self-employment fund has been drafted and will be implemented by the Council of Ministers soon.

Meanwhile, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Jhapat Bahadur Bohara, who is also the chairman of the Province Self-Employment Fund Management Committee, claims that the operation of the fund distribution was delayed due to some technical problems. He said that the work of loan disbursement and selection of banks and financial institutions will start by passing the regulations and issuing information within August.