The region has received the lowest resources allocation of 12.18 percent in the budget for the current fiscal year.

Same is the story when it comes to foreign aid disbursement.  Of the total foreign aid that went to district-level projects, the region received the lowest disbursement in the last fiscal year.

Of the total $960 million disbursed in last fiscal year, $565.63 million was for district level projects, according to Development Cooperation Report (DCR) 2012-13 prepared by the Finance Ministry.

The report shows the region received foreign assistance worth $78.13 million in the last fiscal year, whereas the Central Region received the highest $159.52 million. Same was the situation in the previous year, when the Far-west got $66.88 million in foreign assistance. “Disbursement continues to have no co-relation with the level of poverty,” states the report.

According to the Nepal Living Standard Survey, the poverty head count ratio in the far west is 45.61 percent, while it is 21.96 percent in the Central Region.

Finance Ministry officials admit the region hasn’t received enough foreign assistance given the poverty situation. “Other reasons for low aid disbursement include the few road projects connecting district headquarters have been completed and there are no many projects compared to other regions,” said Kailash Pokharel, under secretary at the ministry’s foreign aid division.

However, experts say the region’s low absorption capacity has to be blamed for low foreign aid. Former National Planning Commission Vice-chairman Dipendra Bahadhur Kshetry said due to poor infrastructure development, limited road access and lower education level, the aid meant for the region has not been spent well.

Kshetry said due to remoteness of the region, those responsible for implementing the projects do not reach there, which reduces the absorption of resources.

The report shows after the Central Region, the Mid-western Region received the second highest aid disbursement, followed by the Eastern and Western regions.

The report shows if on-budget (those reflected in the budget) and off-budget (those not reflected in the budget) disbursements are combined, Kathmandu has the highest amount of disbursement ($21.14 million) followed by Sind-huli, Kailali, Kaski and Surkhet.

Those receiving the lowest aid disbursement are Mustang ($3.10 million), Gorkha and Terhathum ($3.71 million), Nuwakot ($4.12 million) and Illam ($4.22 million).

However, in terms of on budget disbursement, Sindhuli has the highest disbursement ($17.08 million), followed by Ramechhap, Kathmandu, Okhaldhunga and Solukhumbu. The largest amount of disbursement in Sindhuli district is partly due to implementation of Sindhuli Road Project.

“Aid flow from the perspective of donor engagement at the district level does not show reliable evidences as to why they are mostly engaged in districts like Kath-mandu, Kailali, Achham, Banke, Bardiya and Surkhet, and less in Manang, Mustang, Gulmi, Bhoj-pur and Parbat,” states the report.

“Moreover, donor engagement is not seen on the basis of poverty level of the districts. This may require further research to deepen an understanding of the causes of donor engagement in a specific district and the mechanism by which the donor agencies select districts/regions for project implementation.”