Lumbini Province Government Spends 67.18% of Budget

Butwal. Lumbini Province Government has spent 67.18 percent of the total allocated budget in the current financial year. The provincial government has spent 26 Arba 14 Crore 27 Lakh 94 Thousand Rupees.

The expenditure of the ministries of the Lumbini Province Government has increased significantly in the month of Ashad. According to the ministry-wise expenditure details, the Ministry of Health has spent the largest budget.

This ministry has spent 3 Arba 93 Crore 15 Lakh 66 Thousand Rupees out of the allocated 4 Arba 95 Crore 29 Lakh 73 Thousand Rupees. This ministry has achieved 79.38 percent financial progress.

The Ministry of Forest and Environment, which is in second place, has achieved 71.32 percent financial progress by spending 1 Arba 81 Crore 68 Lakh 40 Thousand Rupees out of 2 Arba 54 Crore 74 Lakh 50 Thousand Rupees.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, which has the largest budget, has achieved 70.88 percent financial progress by spending 7 Arba 3 Crore 44 Lakh 20 Thousand Rupees out of 9 Arba 92 Crore 45 Lakh Rupees. This ministry had only spent 50.26 percent of the budget by the end of Jestha, while about 20 percent of the budget was spent in the month of Ashad alone.

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has achieved 70.72 percent progress by spending 1 Arba 89 Crore 94 Lakh 77 Thousand Rupees out of 2 Arba 68 Crore 60 Lakh Rupees.

The Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply has achieved 64.62 percent financial progress by spending 3 Arba 63 Crore 19 Lakh 93 Thousand Rupees out of 5 Arba 62 Crore 3 Lakh 80 Thousand Rupees.

The Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Transport has achieved 61.18 percent progress by spending 1 Arba 16 Crore 49 Lakh 79 Thousand Rupees out of 1 Arba 90 Crore 42 Lakh 11 Thousand Rupees.

The Provincial Assembly has achieved 60.51 percent financial progress by spending 15 Crore 85 Lakh 36 Thousand Rupees out of a budget of 26 Crore 20 Lakh Rupees.

The Ministry of Social Development has achieved 57.29 percent progress by spending 2 Arba 7 Crore 25 Lakh 62 Thousand Rupees out of 3 Arba 61 Crore 75 Lakh 37 Thousand Rupees.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management and Cooperatives has implemented 57.10 percent of the budget by spending 85 Crore 92 Lakh 50 Thousand Rupees out of 1 Arba 50 Crore 47 Lakh 50 Thousand Rupees.

The expenditure of the Ministry of Youth and Sports appears weak compared to other ministries. The ministry has achieved 44.81 percent financial progress by spending only 16 Crore 68 Lakh 94 Thousand Rupees out of 37 Crore 24 Lakh 50 Thousand Rupees.

The Chief Minister and Council of Ministers' Office has achieved 44.50 percent progress by spending 22 Crore 33 Lakh 14 Thousand Rupees out of 50 Crore 18 Lakh Rupees.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning has achieved 38.12 percent financial progress by spending 6 Crore 25 Lakh 19 Thousand Rupees out of 16 Crore 40 Lakh Rupees.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law has achieved 36.57 percent progress by spending 13 Crore 42 Lakh 27 Thousand Rupees out of 36 Crore 69 Lakh 96 Thousand Rupees.

The capital expenditure of the Lumbini provincial government has increased significantly in the month of Ashad. The capital expenditure, which was 10 Arba 54 Crore 27 Lakh Rupees by the end of Jestha, reached 15 Arba 67 Crore 79 Lakh 64 Thousand Rupees by Ashad 25th. Capital expenditure of 5 Arba 13 Crore 52 Lakh Rupees was observed in Ashad. 23 Arba 47 Crore 14 Lakh 65 Thousand Rupees was allocated for capital expenditure.

The provincial government spent about 20 percent of the total budget in the 25 days of Ashad. While the average expenditure in other months is only 4 to 6 percent, the sudden increase in expenditure in Ashad has led to comments that the trend of 'Ashare Bikas' (development in Ashad) still persists.

Professor Madhukumar Poudel from Butwal said that spending should be uniform throughout the financial year, and spending a large amount in the last month is not a good sign. According to him, while some percentage fluctuation compared to other months is natural, spending 20 percent of the total budget in 25 days shows that the practice of hastily passing bills at the last moment has not yet been eradicated.

Narayanprasad Poudel, chief of the Treasury and Comptroller Office, Lumbini Province, said that the main reason for the increase in expenditure in Ashad is the tradition of paying bills at the end. According to him, this situation is seen in all federal, provincial, and local levels.

He also said that expenditure appears high in Ashad due to the nature of construction work. 'Due to the cold in Mangsir, Poush, and Magh, it is not suitable to do work like blacktopping. Therefore, most physical infrastructure works are completed in Baishakh and Jestha. When the bills for these are paid in Ashad, the expenditure appears high at once,' he said.

According to Poudel, some amendments have been made to the public procurement law to improve this trend, which is expected to balance work and payment throughout the year.

Ramji Ghimire, spokesperson for the Lumbini Province Government and Minister of Health, said that although the provincial government adopted a strategy to spend before Ashad, the expenditure appears high because the final bills for many contract projects are paid in Ashad.

He emphasized that while the pace of development construction needs to be increased, there should be no compromise on quality. 'The government pays only after the work is completed, but the expenditure should not be compromised on quality just because the expenditure increased at the last moment,' said Minister Ghimire.