Budget performance of Gandaki below 20%

By Phadindra Adhikari,Lekhnath, Jan. 19: In the first half of the current Fiscal Year 2024/25, public expenditure of the Gandaki Provincial government has remained dismal. 

Out of the annual budget of Rs. 32.97 billion, only Rs. 6 billion has been spent by mid-January which is just 19.4 per cent of the total budget. Of this, Rs. 3.08 billion was mobilized as recurrent expenses and Rs. 3.34 billion 

as capital expenditure.

The budget of the Chief Minister's Office and Council of Ministers was Rs. 1.02 billion but only Rs. 140 million (16.65 per cent) has been spent in the first six months. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has spent only 15.5 per cent of its budget. The Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests, and Environment has spent 20 per cent of its budget Rs. 1.58 billion, according to Sudip Gautam, an official at the Provincial Treasury Control Office in Pokhara.

Currently, Gandaki Province has seven ministries. The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Management has a budget of Rs. 2.09 billion this year. Over the past six months, the ministry has spent 17.9 per cent (Rs. 374.9 million). The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development and Transport, the highest revenue-generating ministry in the province, has a budget of Rs. 12.7 billion but it could spend only Rs. 2.29 billion, which is 18 per cent of 

its total budget. 

The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Water Supply could mobilise Rs. 1.06 billion from its total budget of Rs. 4.02 billion which makes it the top performer with 26.3 per cent budget utilisation. 

Likewise, the Ministry of Social Development and Health spent Rs. 110 million from the total allocation of Rs. 547 million. 

The Gandaki government has developed procedures to enhance its spending capacity. Finance Minister Dr. Takraj Gurung claimed that around 70 per cent of the budget will be spent this fiscal year.

"Although grants from the central government have decreased, and the province has not been able to meet its expected revenue target, we estimate that 70 per cent of the budget will be spent, which should be considered satisfactory," he said. 

Last year, internal revenue of Gandaki was estimated to reach Rs. 5.17 billion, but only Rs. 3 billion could be collected. While the government aims to make the most of the budget, implementation has faced challenges, according to Dr. Gurung.

Issues such as disputes in planned areas, protected and forested regions, and delays from construction contractors have impacted the spending capacity of the provincial government. 

The Gandaki government had spent 66.43 per cent of its budget in the last fiscal year.