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Federalism is not a burden, it is a necessity. Federalism is more of a responsibility than a right. Federalism has yet to be abolished. For the full implementation of federalism, a lot of work remains to be done to strengthen it. Federalism is not a decision made on the basis of huchuwa. The decision was made after a lot of deliberation and thorough discussion. Therefore, I want to understand federalism as a requirement and the responsibility to complete the rest of the work.
I do not agree that there are only weaknesses in the effective implementation of federalism. We have achieved very important achievements regarding the implementation of federalism. Politically federalism is complete, administratively little work remains to be done And there is a need to make financial union more effective. Therefore, I disagree with any comment about the implementation of federalism. All Nepalis should agree to this and provide positive support from their respective places for its full implementation. The country has gone to federalism in order to bring the rights of the Lion Court to the provinces and municipalities. Accordingly, the powers of the center have also reached the provincial and local levels.
Politically, the country is stable or unstable, whatever. But we cannot find an alternative to federalism. Everything should be clear. The solution to instability is stability. A lot of work has to be done regarding resource management. It is important to have a better understanding of how we are managing resources. Let's forget what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow and just analyze the present. In the budget of the current fiscal year, there is a situation where the revenue has to run to meet the general expenses. The target of revenue can be met only by increasing by 31 percent compared to last year and it will cover the general expenses.
In order to show that the revenue has covered the ordinary expenditure, only the minimum budget of the cost has been allocated in some ordinary expenditure headings. There is a development budget of around 3.5 billion. There is a situation where we have to rely on loans to manage that resource. Now we are not in a position to take external loans with enthusiasm. After the year 2026, we are going to be upgraded to a developing nation. After that, it will not be possible to get loans and facilities at cheap interest rates like now. The loan interest rate is going to increase. In recent years, grants have been decreasing globally. In such a situation, unless the capacity of resource management is developed, the needs of the union, state and local levels cannot be met.
Now in the budget, 75,000 plans have been placed under the federal government. If the federal government implements 75,000 plans, how many projects will the state and local levels implement? This is such a joke.
This year, the federal government had seven thousand new schemes. In the current financial year, an additional 11,000 schemes were added to make 18,000. Most of the 11,000 plans that have been added have not been analyzed in terms of feasibility studies, costs and benefits. Instead of how to maximize the use of limited resources, it has only been done to distribute them arbitrarily. Now there is a competition to distribute the budget in many kinds of programs. This problem also exists in the union, state and municipality. The current need is how to manage resources and make maximum use of them. So that the available resources can meet the needs of the union, state and local levels up to the appropriate limits. Now it has become inevitable to return to discipline in budgeting, allocation, resource management and implementation. We can't go in the direction of development, prosperity and advancement by continuing to practice the way we have practiced so far.
Provinces and rural municipalities have faced various problems. We have also experienced that problem. But now it is not a situation to just talk about the problems experienced in the past. Now the government's priority is how to complete the remaining work. That's why within a few months, bills pending in parliament are passed one after the other in an undecided state. I would like to express my commitment to solve the problems in the administrative part of federalism as soon as possible. Provinces and municipalities are feeling the shortage of manpower. This situation will not last long. At present, we are not in a situation where the state and local levels accuse the union and the union accuses the state and local level. Everyone has to work together to solve the problem. Looking at our financial situation, we are not in a position to distribute maternity allowance to Bhaisi. But some municipalities are sharing.
In the meantime, I would like to tell you about the ordinances that came only a few days ago. Some have said that the ordinance was passed by bypassing the House. Not that, it was presented to the House and passed within 60 days. The ordinance came because the law needs to be reformed in order to solve the problem and move forward at a faster pace, not to dwell on yesterday's problems. Some have said that the ordinance does not move towards socialism. I say that we do not need socialism that distributes poverty. First of all, the country should be economically prosperous. Only then can it be shared in social justice.
There is no point in singing the song of socialism in poverty. The arrangements made in the Ordinance are very important decisions in terms of good governance, service delivery, development and investment enhancement. It will contribute significantly in increasing employment, production and productivity. Due to which the revenue will increase, the federal government will also be able to fulfill its obligations towards the state and local levels.
More than the total size of the budget of a province, the amount ensured by one ministry of the same province for the multi-year budget of a project is more. Our budget allocation system is like this? The problem is also in the state, municipality, union. We are committed to solving all these problems one by one. Provincial and local level representatives are working in the right direction. If there is a mistake somewhere, it is done by an individual, the whole organization should not be blamed for it. Therefore, I think that learning from the past should be made effective in the coming days.
(edited part of Paudel's opinion in the session on 'Federalism: burden and rights' of the 'Gantavya Gandaki' program organized by Kantipur in Pokhara)
