Sudurpaschim budget probe stalls as report deadline nears, parliamentary committee yet to be formed

Dhangadhi: The investigation into alleged irregularities in the Sudurpaschim Provincial Government’s budget has been delayed, with the parliamentary committee tasked with the probe still not formed despite only two days remaining before the report submission deadline.

During the process of passing the budget in the Provincial Assembly, an agreement was reached to form a seven-member parliamentary committee to investigate irregularities identified in the budget. On Ashoj 27, before the budget was passed, Speaker Bhim Bahadur Bhandari announced during an Assembly session that the committee would be formed based on party representation. Under the agreement, the committee must submit its investigation report by Kartik 20. However, it has yet to be constituted, with only two days remaining before the deadline.

The ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and the CPN-UML have finalized their representatives for the committee. The CPN-UML has decided to nominate its parliamentary party leader and former Chief Minister Rajendra Singh Rawal, along with Chief Whip and former Minister Surendra Bahadur Pal. The NCP has selected former Minister Naresh Kumar Shahi, Kailash Chaudhary, and Laxmi BK as its representatives.

However, the main opposition Nepali Congress and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) have taken a firm stance against joining the committee, arguing that the formation process moved forward without adequate consultation. They have expressed dissatisfaction, saying they were not consulted either during the budget's passage or while determining the committee's terms of reference.

An agreement had been reached to identify controversial projects included in the budget and introduce a supplementary budget based on the investigation report. However, efforts to identify and address the alleged irregularities remain stalled as the committee has not yet been formed.

The agreement to conduct a parliamentary investigation followed an intense dispute within the ruling coalition over the provincial budget. Lawmakers from the ruling party itself had raised concerns, alleging that intermediaries influenced the budget formulation process, commissions played a role, and projects were selected based on personal connections rather than merit.

Before the budget was passed, a meeting of the NCP parliamentary party decided to approve it to end a three-month-long budget impasse while also agreeing to investigate the alleged irregularities and subsequently introduce a supplementary budget. NCP lawmakers agreed to pass the budget only after the coalition partner, the CPN-UML, also accepted the arrangement.

Meanwhile, Speaker Bhandari has called an all-party meeting for today to discuss the formation of the investigation committee. The Nepali Congress has also scheduled a meeting of its parliamentary party today to decide whether to attend the Speaker's meeting and nominate representatives to the committee.