KATHMANDU, July 18: The government spent less than half of its allocated development budget in the last fiscal year, highlighting the continued weakness in capital expenditure despite repeated promises of improvement.
According to the Office of the Financial Comptroller General, capital spending reached only 46.79 per cent of the allocated budget by the end of the fiscal year. Out of the targeted Rs 407.88 billion, only Rs 190.84 billion was spent on development projects.
The government had announced a total budget of Rs 1.964 trillion for the fiscal year. Overall budget spending stood at 80.55 per cent, with total expenditure reaching Rs 1.582 trillion.
Current expenditure performed better, reaching Rs 1.044 trillion, or 88.4 per cent of the allocated Rs 1.181 trillion. Spending on financial management also exceeded expectations, reaching 92.56 per cent of the target. The government spent Rs 347.33 billion against a target of Rs 375.24 billion.
The budget was implemented under three finance ministers. Former Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel presented it, economist Rameshwar Khanal later took charge following the July movement; and Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle assumed office after the general election. Despite being overseen by two economist finance ministers, the government failed to deliver even early signs of improvement in development spending.
Political changes during the year also shifted government priorities. Following the change in government, funds were redirected from development projects to elections, security, reconstruction, and relief programmes, further affecting capital expenditure.
The government also failed to meet its revised spending target. Its midyear review had projected overall expenditure of 85.96 per cent, including Rs 243.3 billion in capital spending, but actual spending remained well below that goal.
Revenue collection also fell short. The government collected Rs 1.241 trillion, or 83.87 per cent of its Rs 1.48 trillion target. Total government income reached Rs 1.28 trillion, while foreign grants stood at Rs 31.26 billion against a target of Rs 53.44 billion.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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