Kathmandu, March 30

The government has set a target of reducing poverty by one third in the next three years.

Around 21 per cent population of the country is below the poverty line and the target is to reduce this to 13 per cent by 2022. A draft policy prepared by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation aims to bring down the poor population to five per cent by 2030. The draft was finalised incorporating inputs and suggestions from all concerned agencies of the government.

The policy would come into effect once it is approved from the Council of Ministers. The policy stresses participation of poor and disadvantaged groups in the efforts aimed at reducing poverty, easy and judicious access of poor people to basic needs and adoption of a system based on justice and equity.

Secretary at the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperative and Poverty Alleviation Gopinath Mainali opined that poverty could be reduced only when people’’s purchasing capacity increased.