We have tabled balanced Budget: Minister Magar

By Shashidhar Parajuli,Biratnagar, June 17: Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning of Koshi Province Ram Bahadur Magar has said that the budget presented for the next fiscal year is practically implementable and balanced.

Speaking at a press conference organised at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning on Monday, Minister Magar said that the budget has given top priority to the promotion of good governance.

The Koshi Provincial government unveiled a budget of Rs. 35.88 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2025/26 on Sunday.

He said, "The objectives, goals and priorities of the budget are clear, the main priority of the budget is to promote good governance, followed by the overall development of the province, reform of the agricultural sector and strengthening of agro-based industries, and tourism development." 

He said that the budget has been balanced in such a way that at least one plan is included in each constituency.

While implementing the budget, special attention will be paid to good governance standards and prompt service delivery, he said. Minister Magar admitted that the programme to provide interest subsidies in the current year was not effective. 

He said, "A lot of work had been done on providing interest subsidies to farmers. Although the work of selecting banks has been done, due to some problems in our working procedures, it could not be implemented this year and the programme was not effective. However, we will improve the working procedures in the coming year and implement it on time."

In the current fiscal year, the Koshi government had allocated more than Rs. 400 million for providing interest subsidies on agricultural loans, but that amount could not be spent. The government has allocated only Rs. 140 million for interest subsidies for the next fiscal year f.

Minister Magar said that the government has introduced programmes to improve soil quality in the agricultural sector, such as organic fertiliser production and use, credit subsidies and marketing for commercial agriculture expansion, control of cholera disease, tea conferences for international market expansion of tea, subsidies for ghee export, and emphasis on fruit and herbal cultivation.

He said that programmes such as housing for the underprivileged community, access to education for Musahar caste girls, knowledge and skill transfer of senior citizens to new generation, gender equality and inclusive development, and improvement in the quality of health services have been advanced forward.