Tokha-Chhahare tunnel construction will start this year: Finance Minister

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said the construction of multi-purpose Tokha-Chhahare tunnel will start this year. At the inauguration ceremony of the administrative building of Nuwakot Panchkanya Rural Municipality, Minister Mahat said, 'Tokha-Chhahare tunnel is not the only need of Nuwakot. This tunnel has multi-faceted utility as it will facilitate trade with China and connect Prithvi Highway." There was a discussion about this tunnel for many years. But no concrete initiative was taken. Now we have ensured a budget of one billion by taking concrete initiatives. However, there is a possibility of foreign assistance for the project. "Whether the foreign aid comes or not, we will continue the process of building this tunnel. Finance Minister Mahat said this tunnel will greatly help in the development of the agriculture, industry and tourism sectors in Nuwakot district. We will have to wait a few years for the construction to be completed. Minister Mahat said there have been a lot of discussions on the budget for the next fiscal year. It was difficult to raise resources while revenue was low so we had to make a budget by adding foreign aid and internal loans, he asserted. The Prime Minister himself wanted to make a bigger budget to fulfil the needs of people and to build roads from village to village. But without income it is not possible,'' Minister Mahat said. Nuwakot has been receiving a very low budget for a long time. After many years, we have allocated the budget as much as possible to fulfil the needs of the development and construction in the district. Minister Mahat said, "The federal government cannot build roads in every village. The local and provincial bodies will have to manage it from their own budgets." The budget of the province will manage where the centre cannot, he added. According to the finance minister, budget has been allocated for road construction from Gangte to Thorpubhanjang via Samudratar. Similarly, the budget has been allocated to different places under different headings by focusing on their development. Mahat said, "The issue of the Kakani road is also covered, we could not allocate the budget since the contractors for the construction of the road from Pipaltar to Trishuli  have gone to the court." In his address, Minister Mahat said those who advance the enterprise business in a creative manner and produce and demonstrate, will get subsidies. "Now the trend of misuse of agricultural subsidies will end, real farmers will benefit," he said. Finance Minister Mahat said, 'The main goal of the budget is to make the economy of the country viable, to increase the size of the revenue so that we can allocate more budget next year. Based on the needs, the budget that Nuwakot should get has been confirmed this year." READ ALSO:

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