Bagmati Provincial Government Faces Audit Issues with 5.28 Billion Rupee Irregularities

Makwanpur. The Bagmati Provincial Government has spent budget contrary to financial discipline. According to the eighth report of the Auditor General, the province government's updated irregularities have reached 5 billion 28 crore 6 lakh 94 thousand rupees.

The report points out that a large portion of the budget has been spent in unproductive sectors, and irregularities in spending by various ministries of the provincial government and negligence have led to the increase in these irregularities.

The Auditor General has identified 'fragmented projects', 'unproductive consultations', and 'purchases made without preparation' as the main reasons for these irregularities.

The Auditor General has also directed the provincial government to maintain financial discipline, not to allocate budget to fragmented projects, and to bring purchased equipment into immediate operation. The report also suggests that employees and officials should effectively follow the prevailing laws and be accountable.

Although the provincial government has adopted a policy of not implementing projects less than 1 crore, the Auditor General's report states that budget has been scattered in projects up to 5 lakh rupees. The Auditor General stated that although the government has a policy of undertaking large and prestigious projects, the practice of scattering budget in fragmented projects has not stopped.

The Auditor General's report states that out of 1,297 projects allocated budget under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 611 projects (47 percent) are small and fragmented, ranging from 5 lakh to 10 lakh rupees. The Auditor General concludes that small projects do not lead to development and only increase administrative costs.

The Auditor General has warned the government to stop this trend, stating that scattering budget in small and fragmented projects leads to higher operating costs and does not yield expected benefits.

The Auditor General's report states that various ministries under the provincial government purchased machines worth crores without preparation, but they have not been used. The report states that the machines purchased by the government are now unused and on the verge of becoming scrap.

'The smart card printing equipment purchased by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Transport at a cost of 5 crore 40 lakh 97 thousand rupees is not in use. 24 chargers worth 4 crore 14 lakh 25 thousand rupees purchased for electric vehicles have been stored without even being installed,' the report states. 'Ultrasound, dialysis, and CT scan machines purchased for Trishuli, Rasuwa, and Sindhuli hospitals have been kept idle citing technical and software problems. Due to the lack of an operating modality, the equipment is not in use, and the maintenance period is also decreasing.'

The provincial government has encroached upon 13,611 hectares of forest land in 13 districts. In Sindhuli alone, over 7,000 hectares of forest have been encroached upon, yet the ministry has been unable to stop the encroachment and reclaim the encroached land, the Auditor General stated.

According to the Auditor General's report, ministries have spent crores of rupees by appointing external consultants even for tasks they could have done themselves. The Auditor General stated that the Ministry of Water Supply, Energy and Irrigation spent 6 crore 55 lakh 94 thousand rupees to prepare DPRs for 177 projects, and these reports could not be implemented.

The Auditor General's report states that reliance on consultants for regular work has increased, whereas consultants should only be hired for tasks that cannot be performed by the available manpower.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, which accounts for more than half of the province's total irregularities, has errors in contract management, as mentioned in the Auditor General's report. It has been pointed out that contractors were given excess payments against rules and that businesses causing delays in work were not penalized.

The Auditor General's report states that this ministry alone paid more than 9 crore 31 lakh rupees illegally in the name of price adjustment.

13,611 hectares of forest land have been encroached upon in 13 districts of the province. In Sindhuli alone, over 7,000 hectares of forest have been encroached upon, yet the ministry has been unable to stop the encroachment and reclaim the encroached land, the Auditor General stated. The Auditor General has questioned the lack of effective monitoring and action, even though only 39 percent of the 3,230 cooperatives within the province's jurisdiction have renewed their licenses, and 93 cooperatives are out of contact.

According to the Public Procurement Regulations, goods exceeding 20 lakh rupees must be purchased through tender, but the Auditor General's report states that seven water supply offices in Bagmati violated the law by directly purchasing pipes and fittings worth 11 crore 99 lakh 4 thousand rupees.