Govt agencies seek over Rs 20bn additional budget from MoF

Kathmandu, December 20

Different ministries and government bodies have sought more than Rs 20 billion in additional budget from the Ministry of Finance (MoF) for different projects and programmes that are not listed in the annual budget for the current fiscal year.

As per MoF, government agencies have asked for Rs 20.67 billion budget for projects and programmes beyond the annual budget in the first four months of 2019-20.

“Government agencies have sought the additional funds based on the provision that allows them to seek budget for some highly important programmes or causes. However, we have been receiving applications seeking budget for numerous new projects which MoF might not be able to fund,” informed Uttar Kumar Khatri, spokesperson for MoF.

National Planning Commission (NPC) has topped the chart in seeking additional budget as the agency has sought additional Rs 4.75 billion from MoF.

Similarly, the Ministry of Defence has asked for Rs 3.57 billion in additional budget, while the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has sought Rs 3.46 billion extra from MoF. The Ministry of Youths and Sports has sought Rs 3.16 billion such budget from MoF.

MoF officials expressed their concerns over ministries and government agencies not focusing on implementation of projects and programmes mentioned in the annual budget and just seeking additional budget.

“They have not been able to accelerate budget spending by implementing programmes and projects already incorporated in the budget. But at the same time, they are seeking extra budget, which is not good,” added Khatri.

As the government is under pressure to manage resources, the MoF has also urged different government agencies to carry out projects and programmes based on the annual budget. “Our focus should be to expedite project works and accelerate budget spending at present,” said Khatri.