KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 6
In gross violation of the existing laws which require the local levels to get their budget for the fiscal 2023-24 endorsed and also enter details into the portal of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration on time, 51 local governments are yet to comply with the existing legal provisions.
As per Section 71 of the Local Government Operation Act, the village/municipal assembly of each local level shall endorse the budget submitted by the village/municipal executive for the upcoming fiscal no later than mid-July. Similarly, the local levels concerned are required to enter the details of the budget into the portal of the MoFAGA compulsorily.
Nearly two-and-a-half months after the beginning of the new fiscal, 51 out of 753 local levels have failed to comply with the law despite repeated circulars issued by the MoFAGA.
The MoFAGA has issued a circular to strictly comply with the law after the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority asked the ministry to direct the local levels to present their budget for the running fiscal, said an official.
Madhes Province has the highest number of local levels with 36 among them failing to pass the budget, followed by Koshi Province (4), Bagmati Province (3), Lumbini Province (3), Gandaki Province (2), Sudurpaschim Province (2) and Karnali Province (1). The MoFAGA warned that negligence of these local levels could affect the social security programme and health, education, good governance sectors.
The Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangement Act also requires the local levels to present their budget within the stipulated time. If the local governments fail to present the budget on time, they will not be able to utilise the budget allocated to them, except in extraordinary or emergency cases. Moreover, these local levels have not even corresponded with the MoFAGA in the midst of the ongoing delay.
Apart from internal conflicts related to allocations, some local bodies said they lacked trained manpower to formulate and present the budget, said a ministry source.
The federal government has already issued the Directive on Formulation of Annual Plan and Budget of Local Levels to implement and bring about uniformity in the programmes envisioned by the constitution and the Local Government Operation Act for overall development of the local levels.
As per the directive, the local levels should prepare and implement the annual plan and budget on the basis of the constitution, other existing laws, medium-term expenditure framework of the concerned local level, resources, financial policies of the federal and provincial governments, and the commitment made by the Government of Nepal to the international community.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 07, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
