More than Rs 1.6 billion spent to identify poor families, data collection still incomplete!

KATHMANDU, June 14: The government has spent more than 1.6 billion rupees trying to identify poor families across Nepal, but the task remains unfinished even after more than a decade. Initiated in 2069 by the Ministry of Land Planning, Cooperatives and the Fight against Poverty, the project aimed to provide concessions and basic facilities to poor families in the country.

Currently, data collection is still ongoing in 28 districts. The ministry reports that 615,000 families in the remaining 49 districts have been identified as poor, with a total expenditure of Rs 1.6192 billion, or an average of Rs 2,633 per family.

Due to incomplete data collection, the government did not issue identity cards to identified poor families in these 28 districts. The Office of the Auditor General highlighted in its 61st annual report that the indefinite delay in completing this identification work has deprived truly poor families of essential benefits provided by the state.