Koshi govt spends 77% budget

BY SASHIDHAR PARAJULI,Biratnagar, July 11: The Koshi Province Government has improved its budget spending in the fiscal year 2024/25. This year, the government has succeeded in spending more than 77 per cent of its total allocated budget, showing notable improvement in the execution of the capital expenditure compared to previous years.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning of Koshi Province, while releasing the annual financial report on Thursday, stated that out of the Rs. 35.27 billion allocated for this fiscal year, Rs. 27.25 billion has been spent. According to the report, this is an improvement in expenditure compared to the previous year. The government has made significant progress particularly in capital expenditure.

In the previous fiscal year 2023/24, out of the allocated budget of Rs. 34.93 billion, 77.10 per cent was spent. In the current fiscal year, 77.26 per cent of the budget has been spent.

This year, capital expenditure related to development and construction projects has surpassed administrative (recurrent) spending. This indicates an improvement in the government's capacity to utilise capital budgets effectively. Out of the capital budget, 79.26 per cent (Rs. 13.82 billion) has been spent, while only 75.29 per cent (Rs. 12.42 billion) of the recurrent budget has been utilized, marking better progress than last year.

Last year, the Koshi Province Government spent only 73.30 per cent of its capital budget, while this year that figure has risen to 79.26 per cent. Similarly, the government has also made partial progress in reducing recurrent expenditure. Last year, 78.31 per cent of the recurrent budget was used, whereas this year it has been reduced to 75.29 per cent.

Analysing ministry-wise expenditure, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development has spent the highest amount. Out of its allocated Rs. 11.19 billion, it has spent Rs. 8.50 billion, 75.96 per cent of its budget. This ministry also received the highest allocation among all. However, it spent about 5 per cent less than it did last year.

Likewise, based on spending percentage, the Ministry of Water Supply, Irrigation, and Energy also performed well, spending 91.33 per cent of its budget (Rs. 4.04 billion) this year. Last year, this ministry had spent only 79.26 per cent of its allocated budget.