KATHMANDU, May 11: As the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is busy drafting the budget for the next fiscal year, it is under pressure to include small projects from political leaders and interest groups at the local level.
Although the government almost every year expresses its commitment to endorse a realistic budget, it mostly ends up with a populist budget—also due to pressure from various fronts to allocate funds for miniature projects. In addition, the government this year has been facing a shortage of financial resources to start new projects.
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An official at the MoF said the ministry, for the past few weeks, has been witnessing a long queue of individuals lobbying for the budget. “This includes members of parliament, top leaders of the ruling political parties, former ministers, and high-ranking government officials, among others,” said the source.
The National Planning Commission has enforced a guideline maintaining the provision of not including projects with investments below Rs 30 million in the project bank.
