Lumbini Province spends only 17% capital budget in first half of fiscal year

By Our Correspondent,Butwal, Jan.20: Lumbini Province has managed to utilise only 16.64 per cent of its allocated capital budget in the first half of the current fiscal year 2024/25, while recurrent expenditure stands at 23.95 per cent. According to the Office of the Provincial Treasury Controller Office, Butwal, the total expenditure, including capital and recurrent, reached just 19.34 per cent by mid-January.  

For this year, the province had allocated a budget of Rs. 38.97 billion, out of which Rs. 7.53 billion has been spent so far. Of the Rs. 24.58 billion earmarked for development projects, only Rs. 4.09 billion was utilised in the first six months of the current fiscal. 

Similarly, Rs. 3.44 billion was spent out of the Rs. 14.38 billion allocated for recurrent expenses.  

Among the ministries, the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare recorded zero progress in capital expenditure, while the Ministry of Health achieved the highest at 42.12 per cent. 

Likewise, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Law, and Cooperatives spent a mere 0.16 per cent of its capital budget while the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Transport managed only 2.6 per cent mobilisation of its total capital allocation. 

Similarly, Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers spent 3.93 per cent of its capital budget, Ministry of Social Development 5.6 per cent, Ministry of Forestry and Environment 4.6 per cent, and Energy, and Ministry of Water Resources, and Irrigation 11.62 per cent. 

However, Ministry of Water Supply, Rural, and Urban Development, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Management Ministry, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development managed to exhibit better performance against other ministries with total expense of 19.52 per cent, 18.8 per cent, and 14.61 per cent respectively, from their capital allocation. 

Bhuwan Chaudhary, a member of the Lumbini Provincial Planning Commission, highlighted the province’s poor expenditure performance during the review meetings and urged the government to prioritise development spending over recurrent expenses.  

Chaudhary attributed the low spending in the first quarter to technical challenges, including delays caused by the rainy season, time taken for project agreements, and major festivals like Dashain and Tihar. 

He stressed the need to restructure the fiscal calendar, suggesting that the development expenditure deadline should be shifted from the end of the fiscal year in mid-July to mid-March for better progress.