KATHMANDU, Jan 29: The government is mulling over revamping periodic plan designing and execution process, as it has realized that current approach of building projects, with focus on supply of funds and not end-result, has promoted haphazard development practice.
Under the new approach, dubbed "result-oriented planning", the government first plans to identify the target and extend all the needed support to achieve the goal.
For instance, if the goal is to raise agricultural productivity, the government plans to execute separate projects to carry out research, ensure easy availability of seeds, fertilizers and other inputs, develop roads and irrigation facilities to provide access to markets and water, and ease access to credit and insurance policies, among others.
"This way, we are planning to focus on end-result, unlike in the past when focus used to be on inputs, like funds," said Yubaraj Bhusal, secretary at the National Planning Commission (NPC).
"If the new planning approach is endorsed by the National Development Council, it would be incorporated in the three-year interim plan that we are introducing soon."
Although the government is yet to identify sectors in which result-oriented planning approach would be introduced, it has said agriculture, transport infrastructure, social, poverty alleviation and environment are some areas where the new planning approach can be applied.
The government is giving an overhaul to the manner in which it frames policies after it realized that input-led development approach has so far failed to effectively boost development activities and reduce poverty.
"Currently, most of the projects are being developed in isolation," Bhusal said. "For instance, an irrigation project may have been developed to aid agriculture. But availability of water alone cannot ensure good harvest and rise in income level of farmers. For this, many sectors have to make contribution. And that´s what we are planning to do."
To ensure every sector plays its role properly, the NPC is also planning to provide specific annual targets to different project implementing agencies. "This way we can make them accountable for their failure," Bhusal said.
This practice of making implementing agencies accountable for their actions will create a base for signing performance contracts with different government ministries and departments in the coming days, another high-ranking NPC official informed.
"If we are able to sign such contracts, then we can easily evaluate performance of every government agency, and reward and punish them based on results they generate," he said, calling it one of the effective ways of boosting efficiency of the bureaucracy.
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