Finance Ministry asks people not to crowd office

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Apr. 2: The Ministry of Finance has requested people not to come for meetings unless it is urgent as the work of writing the draft of the budget for the next fiscal year 2024/25 has started.

The Ministry has informed that some changes have been made in the format of the meetings as all the employees, including the Minister, should be focused on the preparation of the budget.

Finance Minister Barsaman Pun had formed a budget drafting committee under the leadership of Joint Secretary at the ministry Dhani Ram Sharma on Friday.

Joint secretaries Ritesh Kumar Shakya, Mahesh Acharya, Ram Prasad Acharya, Ishwori Aryal and Parbati Sharma are members of the committee.

The day after the formation of the committee, on Saturday, the work of writing the budget started with the necessary instructions received from Finance Minister Pun, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Spokesperson and joint secretary of the ministry, Uttar Kumar Khatri asked the stakeholders related to the budget preparation to come by arranging time before coming.

“During budget preparation, employees have to work from morning till late in the evening. When there is unnecessary crowding, the work is affected," Khatri said. "However, not all meetings have been stopped. I would like to request the stakeholders who have to meet officials to come only after taking time.”

Clarifying that in a democracy, all government agencies are open to the public, Khatri said that the ministry apologized for the inconvenience because of changing the form of meeting during the budget preparation period due to the pressure of work and sensitivity.

Khatri clarified that in the past too, such practice was followed during budget preparation.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Finance has requested the experts, intellectuals, organisations and private sector, political parties, businessmen, academicians, social workers, employees, media persons and citizens to provide their suggestions to incorporate in the budget by May 13, 2024.

As per the provision of the constitution, there is a binding provision that every year the Finance Minister presents the budget for the next fiscal year at the Federal Parliament on Jestha 15.

The government has already submitted the principles and priorities of this year's budget in the parliament by changing the schedule of budget preparation.

The then Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat had presented the principles and priorities of the appropriation bill for the fiscal year 2024/25 in the House of Representatives and the National Assembly on February 26. Both Houses have already passed the principles and priorities of the budget with the current Finance Minister Barsaman Pun answering the questions raised by the MPs on the same proposal.