The Department of Water Resources and Irrigation spent Rs 2.39 billion during the first quarter of fiscal year 2083/84, with 88 percent of the expenditure directed to capital and construction work, department officials said on Wednesday. Director General Dinesh Rajauriya also reported that the Mahakali Irrigation Project has achieved 97 percent physical progress, placing it close to completion in terms of the work measured so far.
First-quarter spending focused on construction
The spending figures show that the bulk of the department’s outlay in the opening quarter went towards capital works rather than other expenditure. Of the reported Rs 2.39 billion total, 88 percent was used for construction and other capital-related work. The remaining share accounted for expenditure outside that category.
The department made the expenditure details public on Wednesday. The figures provide an early snapshot of the pace of spending on irrigation projects in the current fiscal year, while the reported capital share indicates that construction activity formed the main part of the department’s first-quarter outlay. The disclosure did not, in the information available, provide a project-by-project breakdown of the expenditure.
Mahakali project reports 97 percent progress
Rajauriya said the Mahakali Irrigation Project has reached 97 percent physical progress. The figure refers to progress on the project’s physical work, and indicates that most of the work measured under the project has been completed. The department did not provide further details in the reported update about the remaining work or its expected completion date.
The Mahakali project’s reported progress was among the key details released alongside the department’s first-quarter spending figures. It offers a project-level measure of implementation, while the overall expenditure total covers the department’s reported spending across irrigation projects and activities. The two figures therefore describe different aspects of the update: the amount spent during the quarter and the physical progress recorded on one major project.
Spending update offers an early fiscal-year picture
The first-quarter total is an early indication of how the department’s expenditure is progressing in fiscal year 2083/84. With almost nine-tenths of the reported spending assigned to capital and construction work, the figures place project implementation at the centre of the department’s outlay during the period. Further spending reports will show how expenditure develops over the remaining quarters.
The update also highlights the importance of distinguishing financial spending from physical progress. Expenditure records how much money has been spent, while the 97 percent figure for Mahakali describes the reported status of work on that specific project. Neither figure alone provides a complete account of project delivery, but together they give a snapshot of the department’s first-quarter spending and one project’s implementation status.
The department’s Wednesday disclosure did not include additional information on the remaining 12 percent of expenditure, the amount allocated to each project, or a timeline for completing the Mahakali project. For now, the main reported details are the Rs 2.39 billion spent in the quarter, the 88 percent share directed to capital and construction work, and the Mahakali project’s 97 percent physical progress.
