Karnali Province Minister Allocates 5 Crore Budget to Own Constituency

Surkhet. It has been found that the Minister of Social Development of Karnali Province, Ghanshyam Bhandari, has allocated a budget of 5 crore rupees to his own constituency at his own discretion. He has created a program called 'Secure Citizen Housing' which does not exist with the provincial government and has included two schemes from his own ministry.

Under the ministry-wise budget heading for the upcoming financial year (2083/084), an allocation of two crore rupees has been made for wards number 1 to 7 of Bhairabi Rural Municipality in Dailekh. Similarly, three crore rupees have been allocated for Dullu Municipality wards number 1 to 13.

Both schemes have been named 'Secure Citizen Housing' and the word 'Settlement Development' has also been added in parentheses.

The areas where the program is to be implemented fall under Dailekh Constituency No. 2 (K), which is the constituency of the Minister of Social Development himself. Dullu is his hometown.

The provincial government does not have a program called 'Secure Citizen Housing'. Instead, there are programs like Janata Awas and Integrated Settlement Development. These programs have been implemented by the provincial government through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development with its own working procedures for a long time.

The responsibility of implementing programs of this nature lies with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure. Minister Bhandari initially presented these plans to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure. However, as there was no working procedure, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development did not agree to include the program. After that, Minister Bhandari allocated the program and budget for his area from the Ministry of Social Development, which he leads.

According to Ramesh Subedi, spokesperson for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development, if it were under integrated settlement development, there would be a working procedure for tasks such as building roads, providing drinking water, and constructing houses for those who don't have them. However, he stated that the provincial government does not have a program for replacing thatched roofs with tin roofs. "Such a program exists with the federal government," he said.

"We do not have a working procedure, and if we were to create one, it would have to be implemented in all areas of the province," spokesperson Subedi told Ratopati. "We have said that either the local level should implement it, or some other office should do it." He added that if implemented against the working procedure, it would result in an audit objection.

• Opposition Raises Questions

In the Provincial Assembly meeting held on Saturday, the main opposition party, the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), raised questions about the matter.

"Does the title of this program match your ministry?" asked Krishna Bahadur GC, Chief Whip of the CPN Parliamentary Party.

"Who did it? Should we ask the Ministry of Finance? Should we ask the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure? Does this subject area match? It is stated as physical structure improvement of ward offices, but it has gone to the Ministry of Social Development," he questioned.

• Bhandari Said – I put it in my own ministry after Physical Infrastructure didn't

Minister of Social Development Bhandari, however, stated that the program was included from the Social Ministry because the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development did not include it. He also claimed that the demand and recommendation for the construction of secure housing for the poor, destitute, and Dalit communities in his area came from the district to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development.

"As a program selected under constituency-specific coordination by the honorable member, I sent it as a provincial assembly member," he said. "I had also requested the Provincial Planning Commission for arrangements for financial transfer and implementation through the local level."

However, Bhandari stated that the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development did not accept the program. He also asserted that the program was included in the Ministry of Social Development because financial transfer to the local level had not occurred.

According to him, data collected from the concerned municipalities shows that 635 households in Dullu and 441 households in Bhairabi still have thatched roofs and mud houses. He stated that this is being adopted as a transformative plan to replace the roofs of marginalized, poor, and Dalit communities.

Minister Bhandari also made other accusations against the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure. He stated that the Ministry of Social Development has had to bear the burden of other infrastructure constructions because the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development has not shown proactiveness except in road projects.

"Programs such as the construction of ward office buildings and fences have also had to be implemented by the Ministry of Social Development," he added. "I would like to inform you that these are plans submitted through the Ministry of Finance and Planning based on the coordination of the honorable members for specific constituencies."

Although Bhandari mentioned 'constituency-specific', this was removed after the issue reached the Supreme Court. However, the government has quietly distributed 1 crore 20 lakh rupees to proportional representatives and 5 crore rupees to directly elected MPs, in line with the MPs' intentions.

The government's upcoming budget is often accused of being minister-centric, and one MP suggests that this program, allocated by Minister Bhandari to his own constituency, can be taken as a prime example.