KATHMANDU: A monitoring team of the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) has found 12 political parties and their sister organisations misusing

budget allocated for development programmes in Rupandehi district.

“It is shocking to know that 12 political parties and their sister organisations have taken about Rs 3 million from the District Development Committee, Rupandehi, in the name of financial support, donations, awards and institutional grants,” said Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, the leader of the monitoring team and the MoLD spokesperson.

“Rs 900,000 has been spent on miscellaneous heads in Rupandehi alone,” he said.

The DDCs are found violating norms set by the MoLD for allocating budgets and carrying out administrative and different activities in the local bodies, Thapaliya said. “More than Rs 50,000 in such assistance is restricted,” he said.

According to the MoLD, the ministry monitored the performances in the selected 10 districts of the country. The final reports of Rupandehi and Kaski districts show violation of rules and regulations in the districts. The reports of eight districts are yet to be finalised.

“Budget and programmes were allocated on the basis of political parties’ pressure,” Thapaliya added. “They were reported to have approved the budget without discussions and against the participatory principle,” he said.

In those districts, the programmes approved by the Council Meeting were changed by the Board Meeting against the norms, said the report. “There was no timely approval of budget, no records of budget allocation of the VDCs in DDCs, no monitoring, no updated records, no auditing in time and no participation of women in consumers’ committees in Rupandehi and Kaski districts,” it stated. The amount of un-audited budget is increasing every year in the districts. The lapses are similar to other districts, said Thapaliya. “Malpractice is on against the financial and administrative norms,” he said.

“Lack of transparency is dominant in both the districts,” Thapaliya said.

“NGO/INGOs were found operating on their own without coordination with the DDCs,” he said. “We have directed them to follow the rules and regulations strictly while carrying out every activity.” Thapaliya said action could be taken as per the laws.

The government formed

a high-level central monitoring team led by the secretary of

the MoLD to look into the

local body activities four months ago after allegations that the budgets were not being used properly. Monitoring teams led by joint-secretaries were also formed to supervise the local bodies.

Share of embezzlement

• Rs 500,000 — Financial Assistance

• Rs 25,000 — Advertisement

• Rs 120,000 — Progressive Teachers’ Union

• Rs 500,000 — Construction of Nepal Trade Union Office

• Rs 1,635,950 — Institutional grants for govt, NGOs & parties

• Rs 137,000 — Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Anandidevi)

• Rs 136,000 — CPN-UML

• Rs 110,000 — Nepali Congress

• Rs 89,000 — Madhesi Janaadhikar Forum

• Rs 60,000 — UCPN-Maoist

• Rs 53,000 — CPN (Unified)

• Rs 25,000 — CPN-ML

• Rs 25,000 — Janamorcha Nepal (Sherchan)

• Rs 22,000 — Janamorcha Nepal

• Rs 15,000 — Rastriya Janamorcha

• Rs 12,000 — Nepal Sadbhavana Party (Mahato)

• Rs 4,000 — CPN (Unified Marxist)