Karnali Province budget to be in range of Rs. 27b to 30b

By Our Correspondent Surkhet, May 30: The Karnali Province government is preparing to bring the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2022/23 without shifting the responsibility for next years.

As the sixth budget of the Karnali Province, a budget of Rs. 27 to 30 billion is being brought for the next fiscal year. The provincial government had introduced a budget of Rs. 36.54 billion for the current fiscal year 2021/22.

On Friday, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Bindaman Bista presented the principles, objectives, priorities and key policies of the budget in the parliament.

Presenting the policies and programmes, Minister Bista informed that the coming fiscal year will be considered as the year of completion of unfinished plans in the budget.

He said that there is a policy of selecting programmes without duplication and investing the budget in such a way that the general public has access to basic and emergency health services.

A meeting of the provincial assembly has been scheduled on May 30 and 31 to discuss the principles, objectives, priorities and major policies of the budget.

An official of the budget formulation team informed that the budget for the next fiscal year will be presented considering not to shift the responsibility for the coming years.

“Less new programmes will come in the budget and the budget will focus on completing the unfinished works,” he said.

The size of the budget will not be big, he said and added that the plans below Rs. 1.5 million will not be included.

In the previous fiscal years, the Chief Minister's Office used to have a budget of up to Rs. 4 billion.

“Budget will focus on making Karnali self-reliant in agriculture. No tax will be levied on agriculture and tax subsidy will be provided by giving priority to innovation in agriculture,” said an official of the ministry.

In addition, the forthcoming budget will include the establishment of industries for manufacturing or repairing agricultural equipment and full exemption from taxes levied on such industries at the province and local levels.

The budget includes the opening of rehabilitation centres targeting the disabled, helpless women and children.

There will be no budget allocation for the public housing programme. Evaluating the impact of the budget spent in the previous year may be included in the budget.