Kathmandu, July 19 To end the perennial problem of slow capital expenditure, the Ministry of Finance has issued a time-bound action plan to all the ministries to implement the fiscal budget 2017-18. As the Appropriation Act of this fiscal has come up with some specific provisions to expedite budget implementation, the MoF informed secretaries of all the ministries regarding the provisions today. “The MoF has sent budget implementation guidelines based on provisions of the Appropriation Act for this fiscal for all the concerned projects included in the fiscal budget,” said Finance Minister Gyanendra Bahadur Karki. Implementing units have to spend 29 per cent of the allocated budget in the first quadrimester, 67 per cent by the end of the second quadrimester and cent per cent by the end of this fiscal. Ministries and implementing units have to develop procurement plan, detailed design of the project and cost estimation of the project and call for tender within the first month of the fiscal and have to award tender within the first quarter of the fiscal, as per the provision. All the ministries have been urged to disclose the project implementation action plan of the specific projects on their website within the first one-and-a-half months of this fiscal, that is, by August-end. The ministries and the implementing agencies have been directed to expedite project implementation, as the government is planning to hold provincial and general elections this fiscal. “As the elections can affect implementation of development activities, we have to accelerate the work from the very beginning,” said Shanta Raj Subedi, finance secretary. The ministries cannot ask MoF to transfer funds till the end of the second quadrimester. As lack of project preparedness is one of the major causes behind slow project implementation, the projects must complete environmental impact assessment and initial environmental examination within the timeframe as provisioned by the given laws, beginning this fiscal. Systemic revamp of some of the implementing agencies, such as the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and Nepal Electricity Authority, has been sought to spend the budget allocated for critical infrastructure — air transport quality enhancement and electricity transmission. Considering the delay in work from contractors, the guideline bars single contractor from taking additional contracts at the same time. Moreover, payment to contractors will be released only after vigilance agencies check quality of completed work. Ministries have to submit financial and physical progress of the projects in the first week of each month and the finance minister-led committee of MoF and National Planning Commission will review the progress every two months. In the context of the transfer of grant to the local units, MoF has urged the Treasury Controller Office that operates federal treasury to transfer the allocated funds to local treasuries in three phases — first tranche on the first day of the fiscal, second on November 17 and third on March 15.