Bhadau Ends Without Budget as Sudurpaschim’s Budget Revision Remains Stalled

Dhangadhi: The budget for the current fiscal year 2083/84 has yet to be introduced in Sudurpaschim Province. Although the government had announced plans to present the budget by the end of Bhadau to resolve the budgetary vacuum, it has not even been able to formally begin the process of rewriting the budget.

The coalition government—comprising the newly formed Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and the CPN-UML—had pledged to introduce the budget through a “fast-track” process, stating that the budgetary vacuum would not be allowed to persist for long. On the very day he assumed office (Shrawan 29), Chief Minister Khagaraj Bhatta indicated that the budget would be presented by the first week of Bhadau. Subsequently, however, the government stated that the budget would be introduced by the end of Bhadau.

Even as the month of Bhadau draws to a close, the process of rewriting the budget remains stalled because the province’s Provincial Line Ministry Budget Information System (PLMBIS) has not yet been opened. On Saturday, the provincial cabinet decided to proceed with the budget revision and requested the Government of Nepal to open the PLMBIS.

According to Provincial Government Spokesperson Prakash Bahadur Rawal, the budget rewriting process has been unable to move forward because the system remains closed. He stated that, as of Wednesday evening, the Government of Nepal had not informed the provincial government that the system had been opened.

Satya Raj Joshi, Spokesperson and Information Officer for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, noted that all budget-related activities are conducted through the PLMBIS. Once the system is opened, the Policy and Planning Commission will send budget ceilings to the ministries, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs will issue guidelines regarding budget formulation. Only then will the ministries enter details of projects, programs, and budgets into the system.

The provincial government is preparing to remove all capital-side projects and programs from the budget—originally presented by the previous government on Asar 1—and re-enter them. According to Minister for Economic Affairs Chakra Bahadur Malla, recurrent expenditure headings will also be revised or modified as necessary.

Since the budget must be presented to the Provincial Assembly after being rewritten, uncertainty remains regarding when the PLMBIS (Project and Budget Management Information System) will open and how much time will be allocated to the ministries. This has also made the timing of the budget presentation to the Provincial Assembly uncertain.

The ongoing budgetary impasse, which has persisted for two months, has disrupted the annual programs of offices under the provincial government. Employees have not received their salaries, and offices are managing administrative expenses on credit. Shortages of medicines have begun to appear in hospitals. Multi-year projects have also been affected due to the suspension of payments for work completed in the previous year.