Capital Budget Spending Remains Below 20% After Eight Months of Fiscal Year 2082/83

Kathmandu. Even as eight months of the current fiscal year (FY) 2082/83 are about to conclude, less than 20 percent of the allocated capital budget has been spent this year. The government had allocated a budget of NPR 407 billion for development in the current fiscal year on Jestha 15.

According to the Office of the Financial Comptroller General, only NPR 75.8343 billion has been spent from the budget allocated under the capital expenditure heading as of Falgun 17. This expenditure represents only 18.59 percent of the allocation for that heading. This data indicates that the government has failed to spend even NPR 100 billion of the development budget despite eight months of the current fiscal year being nearly over.

Rabi Singh, President of the Federation of Contractors' Associations of Nepal, stated that the capital expenditure is not moving forward due to the slow pace of construction. He mentioned that work was affected because the government terminated contracts during the working period, and currently, the main reasons for the lack of work are financial constraints and a shortage of laborers.