"We received instructions from Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai not to dole out financial assistance," said an official, adding, "Abiding by the instructions, the finance section of the OPMCM has completely stalled the issuing of money to assistance seekers."[break]
Immediately after assuming the top executive post, Prime Minister Bhattarai had asked officials at the OPMCM not to distribute money under any head to anyone until a credible mechanism is introduced in that regard.
Bhattarai cited reckless misuse of state funds and public positions in the past under the pretext of providing financial assistance, and directed government officials to stop such practices.
"This is most probably the first instance in the history of the OPMCM that the PM himself has stood up against the practice of distributing money from state coffers to assistance seekers," said the source, adding, "It is clear that this move will help curb such irregularities and discourage assistance seekers from exerting pressure on government officials."
Despite objections from government officials and various quarters in society, then prime ministers Jhalanath Khanal, Madhav Kumar Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Girija Prasad Koirala, Surya Bahadur Thapa, Lokendra Bahadur Chand and Sher Bahadur Deuba, among others, had doled out millions in state funds to near and dear ones, relatives, party leader and cadres.
The Office of the Auditor General has long shown arrears arising out of transactions carried out by the OPMCM under the financial assistance head.
Unlike past prime ministers, Prime Minister Bhattarai has also asked OPMCM officials to work on introducing a credible mechanism at the earliest for handling financial assistance.
Former prime minister Jhalanath Khanal alone doled out Rs 5 million to relatives and near and dear ones, party leaders and cadres over a period of five months.
Officials at the OPMCM had long been advising prime ministers to set a precedent by breaking with the practice of doling out financial assistance, which goes back decades. "The budget is being spent in the name of the genuinely poor but it is party cadres who have been enjoying the assistance," said the source, adding, "The PMs pledged to provide financial assistance only to the poor and those suffering from serious disease but they never adhered to their commitments."
Former prime minister Nepal distributed Rs 8 million over a period of 15 months. Former PM Dahal spent Rs 10 million and the late Koirala, Rs 10.5 million.
Following tip-offs that irregularities are rife in the doling out of financial assistance, the cabinet committee, on the recommendation of then Secretary at the OPMCM Leel Mani Paudyal had issued a directive curtailing the distribution of assistance through his office. However, the office was compelled to revise the directive after then PM Nepal objected vehemently.
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