Finance Minster pledges to clear Govt dues before Dashain

Chitwan / Oct 6: Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that the government will clear the dues of the previous fiscal year to be paid to the construction entrepreneurs before the Dashain festival.

Talking to media persons on Friday, the finance minister shared, “We have already paid Rs 60-70 billion by the end of the previous fiscal year. Around Rs 6-7 billion remains to be paid. It will be cleared before Dashain.”

The finance minister said that the economic crisis is not as extreme as people are saying but he admitted that there are problems to some extent.

The finance minister said that the problem has surfaced due to the lack of proper utilization of loans provided by Nepal Rastra Bank.

“The loans provided easily by banks were invested in unproductive sectors without thinking about the returns. Now we are facing its impacts,” he opined.

Minister Mahat further said that the interest rate has increased due to the strict monetary policy and some entrepreneurs are facing problems due to this.