Madhesh Province Spends Heavily in Final Month of Fiscal Year

Janakpurdham. The government's practice of spending unusually in the last month of the fiscal year is old. Such spending increases from local levels to the center.

In Madhesh Province too, extensive spending has been observed in the month of Ashar. It has been found that the Madhesh government spent 3.32 billion rupees by Ashar 20 within the last month of the current fiscal year. The Provincial Treasury Comptroller Office has stated that this is 28.30 percent of the total budget expenditure. According to the office, the provincial government had spent a total of 13.29 billion 66 million 68 thousand 164 rupees by Ashar 20. Before this, by the end of Jestha, 9.97 billion rupees, or 21.24 percent of the total budget, had been spent.

Experts in public financial management interpret this trend of spending in the last month of the fiscal year by raising questions about the quality and transparency of expenditure. According to them, hasty payments at the last moment carry the risk of affecting the effectiveness and quality of development projects.

Meanwhile, according to Narendra Lal Karna, Information Officer at the Provincial Treasury Comptroller Office, who spoke to Ratopati over the telephone, expenditure on the current account has reached 6.72 billion 88 million rupees, or 43.2 percent, and capital expenditure has reached 6.56 billion 78 million rupees, or 20.96 percent. By the end of Jestha, current expenditure was only 36.22 percent and capital expenditure was only 13.76 percent.

Among the ministry-wise expenditures, the Ministry of Finance has shown the highest progress, spending 53.71 percent of its budget. Following this, the Ministry of Forests and Environment spent 46.38 percent, and the Ministry of Labor and Transport spent 38.97 percent.

Similarly, the Ministry of Health and Population spent 36.29 percent, the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers spent 31.29 percent, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development spent 28.79 percent, the Ministry of Home, Communication and Law spent 28.56 percent, and the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives spent 28.36 percent of the budget.

Likewise, the Ministry of Education and Culture spent 26.47 percent, the Ministry of Energy, Irrigation and Water Resources spent 19.60 percent, and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism spent the least at 11.2 percent, according to the data.

According to Information Officer Karna, the total percentage of expenditure is likely to increase further as payment processes for various plans and programs will continue until Ashar 25. However, questions remain about the long-term impact of budget implementation due to rapid spending at the last moment.