Lalitpur, January 7:

Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr Chaitanya Subba said today that budget allocated for the Karnali zone should be utilised to uplift the living standard of the people of Karnali.

Dr Subba was speaking at a programme on effective implementation of the budget allocated for a five-year employment scheme — one family: one employee — launched by the Ministry of Local Development two years ago in five districts of the Karnali zone.

Stating that the Karnali zone was lagging behind in development, Subba said the fiscal year, which was to end in the month of Asar, was extended till the month of Kartik to prevent budget freeze. This fiscal, Rs 200 million has been allocated for the “one family: one employee” scheme in Karnali. Secretary at the Ministry of Local Development Ram Kumar Shrestha said the scheme was launched in Karnali to encourage locals to participate in the scheme and benefit from it.