Opposition parties in the Madhesh Provincial Assembly have claimed that the allocation of 168 million rupees by the government under the headings of nutrition and traffic signs has been influenced by vested interest groups.
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Opposition parties have alleged that a “vested interest group” is involved in the allocation of NPR 124 million set aside by the Madhesh Province government for nutrition and NPR 44 million provided for the installation of retro-reflective traffic signboards to local governments in the fiscal year 2083/84.
Saroj Kumar Yadav, leader of the parliamentary party of the main opposition party JSP Nepal and former Chief Minister, accused that the budget given to local governments for nutrition and traffic signs was “transacted” with vested interest groups.
Under one heading in the Madhesh Province’s budget booklet (Red Book), a special grant of NPR 2 million each has been provided to 62 out of 136 municipalities in Madhesh Province for “building a healthy and self-reliant society through the distribution of pure nutrition based on domestic agriculture and dairy products.”
The opposition alleges that the operator of a factory in Biratnagar, which produces nutrition based on domestic agriculture and dairy products, influenced the allocation of the NPR 124 million grant in the budget to match his own products. “There is evidence of maneuvering by a Biratnagar businessman in the nutrition budget,” said former Chief Minister Yadav. “They have already paid an advance to ensure the budget is allocated in favor of those businessmen.”
Similarly, in the fiscal year 2083/84, the Madhesh Province government allocated a budget for retro-reflective traffic signboards to 20 local governments. Each of these 20 local governments in Madhesh Province was allocated NPR 2 million specifically for retro-reflective traffic signs. The opposition parties allege that the budget heading of NPR 44 million for the installation of retro-reflective traffic signs was also influenced by vested interest groups.
Chandan Singh, leader of the parliamentary party of the opposition Janamat Party, pointed out that even though traffic management is chaotic in major cities like Janakpur, Birgunj, Rajbiraj, and Lahan, the budget for installing retro-reflective traffic signs has also been allocated to rural municipalities.
“There has been maneuvering in the budget given to local governments with conditions, especially in nutrition and traffic signs,” said Janamat leader Singh. “It appears that both these budget headings are influenced by vested interest groups with the intention of purchasing goods produced by their own companies.” He also accused the Madhesh Province government of concealing the total size of the budget presented to the Provincial Assembly for the coming fiscal year.
Madhesh Province Finance Minister Yubaraj Bhattarai presented a budget of NPR 41.13 billion to the Provincial Assembly. However, the Red Book provided to Provincial Assembly members shows the budget size as NPR 49.24 billion. The grant amounts given to local governments were not included in the budget statement. The provincial government provides equalization, conditional, special, and complementary grants to local governments. The financial transfer of grants to local governments has also not been carried out by the Madhesh Province government.
In the fiscal year 2082/83, the provincial government brought a budget of NPR 46.96 billion and, citing a deficit budget, cut 20 percent of the funds for development projects. “In FY 2083/84, an even larger deficit budget has been brought,” said JSP Nepal provincial assembly member Upendra Mahato. “A budget far exceeding the province’s financial capacity has been brought. There is no possibility of implementing the budget.”
The opposition parties have also objected to the inclusion of different types of work under the same project heading in the budget. According to Mahato, although the Madhesh government announced it would not allocate budgets below NPR 10 million, it has made implementation even more complicated by placing NPR 10 million under a single project and including different types of work. “The different types of work with a budget of NPR 10 million are not limited to a single ward, municipality, or district; projects from other districts have also been included,” said Provincial Assembly member Mahato. “Construction of temples, dharmashalas, roads, drains, and stadiums have all been included under a single heading. If a single contractor is awarded contracts for different types of work, what kind of work will be done? The work will certainly be substandard. The contract process will also become more complicated.”
An example is a plan of NPR 10 million allocated by the Ministry of Sports and Social Welfare of Madhesh Province. NPR 10 million has been allocated for the construction of a Chhathghat at the pond near Brahmasthan in Kabilasi Municipality-6 of Sarlahi, temple upgrades, incomplete stadium construction in Rajdevi-7 of Rautahat, and stadium upgrades in Katariya-4. Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Development allocated NPR 10 million in a single plan in Balwa Municipality of Mahottari, which includes temple upgrades, construction of an incomplete dharmashala, and construction of various roads and drains.
Pointing out the irregularities and errors in the budget, opposition parties JSP Nepal and Janamat Party have not allowed the Provincial Assembly meeting to proceed. The Provincial Assembly meeting held on Asar 17 and 18 to discuss the budget for the coming fiscal year was postponed due to the obstruction by the opposition parties. Madhesh Province Speaker Ram Ashish Yadav postponed the Provincial Assembly meeting until further notice to reach an agreement.
Former Chief Minister of Madhesh Province Lalbabu Raut commented that the budget is dominated by vested interest groups and is unlikely to be implemented. “There are problems in implementing the budget. Many projects have been kept within the ministries themselves,” said former Chief Minister Raut. “If all projects and budgets are kept within the ministries, what is the role of the district offices and units of the provincial government?” The opposition parties insist that the budget should be distributed proportionally.
“The effectiveness of the budget, financial discipline, and equal distribution of the budget will make implementation easier,” said JSP Nepal Assembly member Mahato. “There should be dialogue with the opposition parties for the amendment and revision of the budget.”
Madhesh Province Finance Minister Bhattarai said that dialogue has begun regarding the opposition parties’ complaints about the budget.
He said that an agreement with the opposition parties would be reached within a day or two and that the budget discussion would move forward. “Neither budget amendment nor rewriting is possible,” said Finance Minister Bhattarai. “The opposition parties say one thing but do another, so efforts are being made to reach an agreement through discussion.”
