Over Rs 2 Billion allocated for MPs’ plans in Far-west budget preparations

Dhangadhi: The Far West Provincial Government, currently preparing the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84, has allocated a budget worth billions of rupees to members of the Provincial Assembly.

According to sources, the budget has been set at Rs 50 million for directly elected MPs and Rs 30 million for proportional MPs, and details of the projects they have selected have already been collected.

Based on this arrangement, approximately Rs 2.18 billion has been allocated for MPs alone. However, sources say that influential MPs are actively pressuring and bargaining for additional budget allocations. At present, there are 52 MPs in the Provincial Assembly.

Leaders of parliamentary parties in the ruling coalition, influential opposition MPs, senior leaders of the Congress, MPs leading efforts to topple the government, those who have withdrawn their signatures, and MPs aligned with the Chief Minister are reportedly securing additional budget allocations. As a result, sources claim the government is preparing to spend more than Rs 2.5 billion on projects recommended by MPs alone.

Provincial assembly members have selected plans based on their constituencies and personal interests and submitted budget proposals to the government. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to scrap the ‘Parliamentary Development Fund’, the provincial government has in recent years adopted the practice of allowing lawmakers to select projects prior to budget preparation.

The Sudurpaschim government has not made public the details of the proposed plans, their costs, or the criteria for selection. It has also kept confidential which lawmakers recommended which projects, raising serious concerns about transparency, necessity, and appropriateness of the budget allocation.

There are also allegations that lawmakers are charging commissions for the projects they recommend. It is said that they have been directing close party workers to prepare lists of plans and collect commissions.

In the current fiscal year 2082/83, directly elected MPs were allowed to select projects worth Rs 50 million, while proportional MPs were allowed projects worth Rs 30 million. However, no public assessment has been conducted regarding the achievements, effectiveness, or implementation status of those projects. In the fiscal year 2081/82, Rs 40 million was allocated to direct MPs and Rs 20 million to proportional MPs.

MPs have long faced criticism for focusing budgets on small and fragmented schemes targeting voters and party workers. At the same time, some provincial assembly members have expressed dissatisfaction over not being given sufficient roles in planning and budget allocation.

Lawmakers are reportedly allocating budgets to fragmented schemes such as embankments, drinking water systems, irrigation canals, irrigation ponds, footpaths, and school boundary constructions.

Sources claim that these projects are often implemented through consumer committees, and even when they should be handled by construction companies, contracts are allegedly awarded through collusion by seeking quotations. It is also alleged that the provincial government is channeling funds into MP-recommended projects to facilitate commission collection.

According to sources, MPs are receiving project allocations beyond their constituencies. A directly elected MP from Kailali has reportedly been distributing plans in hilly districts such as Bajhang and Bajura. Many MPs elected from Kailali and Kanchanpur are said to be recommending projects across various hilly districts. Middlemen from these regions have reportedly gathered in Dhangadhi, claiming they can arrange project allocations, with their activities increasing since Baisakh.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah has publicly stated that projects costing less than Rs 2.5 million will not be included in the upcoming budget. However, sources indicate that most of the plans submitted by MPs are around Rs 1 million.