Bagmati Province Government Faces Challenges in Budget Formulation Amidst Leadership Vacuum in Policy and Planning Commission

Makwanpur. The Bagmati Province Government is in the midst of preparing the policy and program and budget for the upcoming fiscal year (2083/84). However, the body responsible for recommending long-term goals, roadmaps, policies, and plans with a far-reaching vision for the overall prosperity of the province, and for formulating strategies, policies, and plans in areas such as economic development, social development, physical infrastructure, water resources and energy, and other natural resources, human resource management, good governance, and management, is without officials.

Since the formation of the new government on August 5, and Chief Minister Indra Bahadur Baniyan taking office, officials have not been appointed to the Province Policy and Planning Commission. With the formation of the government, the then Vice-Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Gangadatta Nepal, and members Dr. Dipendra Shrestha and Gunaraj Moktan, were removed from their posts. Officials have not been appointed to the commission yet. With the commission being without leadership during the crucial budget preparation period, it is estimated that this could have a direct impact on plan formulation and research.

There is talk that the government is considering abolishing the Policy Commission or giving it a new form, under the guise of strengthening the administrative structure. For this reason, it is said that Chief Minister Baniyan has not shown interest in appointing the Vice-Chairman and members so far. Due to the lack of leadership, the commission is currently confined to relying solely on administrative staff.

The posts of Vice-Chairman and all four members are currently vacant in the commission. According to the structure, the commission is supposed to have one Executive Vice-Chairman and 4 members. These positions are filled through political appointments. The ex-officio members of the commission include Chief Secretary Baburam Adhikari, Secretary of the Policy and Planning Commission Hemraj Bhusal, and Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning Narayan Prasad Mainali.

Currently, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning and the Chief Minister's Office are leading the budget preparation. The commission's secretariat is currently only managing and fine-tuning the projects entered into the project bank.

Due to the absence of a team of experts, there is an increased risk that traditional and fragmented plans will be prioritized in the budget instead of strategic and transformative plans. There is uncertainty about the effectiveness and implementation of the upcoming budget.

Estimated 50,000 projects in the project bank

Secretary of the Commission Hemraj Bhusal stated that the lack of officials has created a void in the areas of research and monitoring. He mentioned that the secretariat is carrying out the technical work of budget preparation. However, he added that without an independent and expert group (officials), the commission could become weak in terms of policy formulation and attracting investment.

Bhusal clarified that there is currently a gap in research and monitoring. Although the secretariat is functioning administratively, there has been some slowdown in policy audits and research, he said.

“There is no situation of a policy gap due to the lack of political leadership in the commission, as the periodic plan is guiding us,” said Secretary Bhusal. “However, the lack of leadership is felt in proactive tasks such as studying the effectiveness of plans, auditing policies, and attracting investment. It is true that there has been some lag in research and study. The need for an expert and independent advisory body to make the commission effective and to put forward transformative plans will always remain. If the leadership vacancy is filled soon, the implementation and monitoring of the upcoming budget would be more effective.”

According to Bhusal, the process of compiling and fine-tuning the priorities received from the thematic ministries for the upcoming year's budget statement and policy program is underway. He stated that the plans received from the ministries will be finalized after examining them against the overall priorities of the province and the periodic plan.

Bhusal informed that the project bank will be the main basis for systematizing the project selection process in the upcoming year. According to him, approximately 22,700 projects have been entered into the project bank so far, and this number is estimated to reach up to 50,000.

“Projects are being selected and placed in the project bank in accordance with the directives issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Many projects have been received. However, since it is not possible to allocate budget to all of them, we have to limit them to 10 to 12 thousand projects based on the availability of resources,” he said.

He stated that special attention will be given to geographical balance, regional balance, and constituency balance in the upcoming year's budget. He mentioned that the government is prioritizing the completion of incomplete old projects over new ones.