Lumbini Province's Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Dhanendra Karki has been embroiled in controversy after focusing the provincial government's budget for the upcoming fiscal year on his own wards and municipalities. UML provincial assembly members from the ruling party are demanding the resignation of Minister for Economic Affairs Karki, saying that there was a serious error in the budget from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Due to the controversy, the budget presented in the provincial assembly on Asad 1 has not been discussed as of Wednesday. The provincial assembly meeting is also becoming uncertain.

Minister Karki had made public the budget of Rs 37.38 billion 45 million for the upcoming fiscal year of Lumbini Province on Asad 1. The budget included Rs 11.11 billion 27.10 billion for current expenditure. Rs 22.71 billion 65.40 billion was allocated for capital expenditure. Out of the same capital budget, 294.4 million rupees have been allocated for 104 schemes by Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Karki in the annual program (Red Book) only for his own municipality.

Minister Karki was elected from Gulmi-1 (2). He is a permanent resident of Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality-6. Karki has sent plans worth more than 242.6 million rupees for Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality and 51.8 million rupees for his own ward. Sufficient budget has also been allocated in the ward of Prem Pun of Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality-1, who is Karki's personal secretary. However, the budget is very low in wards no. 2, 4 and 5 of Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality. After the Finance Minister allocated a budget focused on his ward and municipality, the members of the Provincial Assembly started protesting against it.

Karki has allocated the most plans and funds to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development. He has allocated Rs 158.5 million for more than 35 infrastructure projects ranging from Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000 in the municipality. Most of them are road projects. The budget has been allocated by changing the title of the same road project with only a few changes. His own ward has a budget of Rs 26.5 million for roads. Then, he has allocated Rs 25.3 million for 25 projects through the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation. His own ward has a budget of Rs 7 million for irrigation.

Minister Karki has allocated Rs 25 million for 19 projects in his municipality and Rs 6.8 million in his own ward through the Ministry of Urban Development. The municipality has a budget of Rs 18.5 million for 10 projects and Rs 10 million more in the ward. The budget for industrial tourism is more for temple construction and conservation than for tourism promotion. The Ministry of Social Development has a budget of Rs 1.45 crore for 8 schemes. Only Rs 1.5 million has been allocated to the ward.

A total of 9 schemes have been allocated to Gulmi district from the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the province. Out of these, 4 schemes are in the municipality of the Minister of Economic Affairs. A budget of Rs 4 million has been allocated for 4 schemes. The Ministry of Forests has 3 schemes for Gulmi Durbar Rural Municipality. A budget of Rs 2.1 million has been allocated for these schemes.

However, even after the discussion on the budget started and was passed, the discussion on the budget has not been finalized.

Finance Minister Karki has brought two budgets of the province government. However, both budgets have become controversial. There were allegations that the current fiscal year's budget was also focused on a specific ministry. Last year, during the budget preparation, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and the Ministry of Urban Development did not provide the plans and budget ceiling even until the night before the budget was presented. When the budget was presented in a hurry, many plans of provincial assembly members were left out. After the budget could not be discussed for a long time, the missed plans were submitted separately to the provincial assembly, and an agreement was reached to decide and implement them. After discussing the budget, the budget was finally passed on Ashad 18.

After the budget for the upcoming fiscal year was also in dispute like last year, the provincial assembly members of the ruling party are demanding the resignation of Minister for Economic Affairs Karki. The Minister of Economic Affairs is again in controversy after the plans of more than 100 million rupees of the provincial assembly members of the ruling party UML and Congress elected from Bardiya under the budget ceiling provided for provincial assembly members for the upcoming fiscal year were left out. Basanti Neupane of Banke, a member of the UML provincial assembly and leading the demand for budget rewriting, said that the budget should be rewritten and Minister for Economic Affairs Dhanendra Karki should resign. ‘Next year’s budget should be rewritten and the resignation of the Finance Minister is the bottom line,’ she said. ‘The Chief Minister and the Minister for Physical Infrastructure Development, who made serious shortcomings in the budget, should also resign.’

She said that 34 people, including herself, have signed a petition demanding the rewriting of the budget under the leadership of the Parliamentary Women’s Forum. The Women’s Forum was formed under the leadership of Lumbini Provincial Assembly Deputy Speaker Menuka Khand KC.

Nepali Congress Provincial Assembly member Nima Giri is also dissatisfied with the budget brought by her own minister. She is also demanding the rewriting of the budget. ‘The budget is not equitable, the Finance Minister is repeating the same mistake over and over again,’ she said. ‘Last year too, the plans selected by the MPs did not work, the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister have committed that the mistake will not be repeated in next year’s budget.’ Now it's the same again.' He suggests that the Finance Minister and the Chief Minister, who are repeating the same mistake, should pave the way if they have moral conduct.