Economists, including Prithivi Raj Legal, Bishwambar Pyakurel, Posh Raj Pandey and Keshav Acharya, made the suggestion during a meeting held with the president at his office on Friday.[break]
The recommendation came at a time when the monetary allocations made through one-third budget in mid-July are expected to be exhausted within mid-Nov. As the constitution does not allow introduction of another one-third budget, inability to come up with a fiscal policy within that time will result in freezing all the funds that the government has in its coffer.
“Since the time is running out, the president must issue a deadline to all political parties to forge a consensus on budget formation. The cut-off-date should not go beyond the first week of November,” Economist Prithivi Raj Legal told Republica referring to the conversation held with President Yadav.
If such consensus is built, the president can introduce the fiscal policy presented by the government through ordinance. “This is the only constitutional way out. But for that all political parties must forge a consensus first. Otherwise, it won´t be acceptable to the president,” Legal said.
To create this consensus, according to Legal, all political parties can form a joint committee and give its members full authority to take decisions on behalf of their respective parties.
In case these measures fail to yield positive results, “president must intervene and introduce a full budget by consulting with various experts,” Prof Dr Bishwambar Pyakurel suggested.
“Since development activities have come to a halt due to lack of a complete fiscal policy, the country must come up with a full-fledged budget within mid-Nov,” he said, referring to the conversation with the president. “In this regard, the president may seek help of experts to make necessary amendments to the fiscal policy prepared by the finance ministry to ensure populist programs are not included.”
Pyakurel also suggested that the president issue a stern warning to the government to not divert funds intended for one program to the other. “This will ensure financial resources allocated for development will not be expended on consumption,” he said.
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