KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 28

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has said the government should work seriously to keep people's hopes intact.

During a meeting with the bodies affiliated with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Prime Minister pledged a quality change in government upcoming policies, programmes and the budget.

As he said, the responsible bodies should work diligently to uphold the people's hopes and holding a position is irrelevant if effective delivery is not ensured.

He took time to say that his address to the nation on Tuesday reflects the government roadmap for the upcoming fiscal year, pledging its full implementation.

Stating that he will be reshuffling the Office of the Prime Minister today itself, the Head of the Government said the commencement of ministry-level discussions aims to strengthen the government performance. "The government and the Prime Minister are questioned if ministries fail to deliver effectively," he said, urging ministers to take the matter seriously.

At the meeting, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Prakash Jwala, said the Muglin-Pokhara and Narayangadh-Butwal road projects have been implemented with top priority and the Nagdhunga tunnel construction works are underway at an expected pace.

He stressed the need of settling issues of payment dues to contractors.

The Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister is of the opinion of adopting a flexible process for resource management and ensuring sufficient budget for projects of national pride. He also underlined the need of an umbrella law or a high-level mechanism to address issues in the physical infrastructure sectors.

National Planning Commission Vice Chair Dr Min Bahadur Shrestha pledged to give top priority to the formulation of development acts while Chief Secretary Dr Baikuntha Aryal said works are in progress to ease the payment procedures to contractors. Likewise, he shared about an increasing pressure regarding budget responsibility for roads and bridges.