KATHMANDU, May 6: As part of its preparation for the fiscal year (FY) 2025/26 budget, the government has started collecting project proposals worth Rs 210 million from each lawmaker. Despite the Supreme Court's earlier halt on the "Constituency Infrastructure Development Program," the government now plans to allocate funds through the "Balanced Infrastructure Development Program" based on lawmakers' recommendations.
To ensure balanced budget distribution across the country's 165 electoral constituencies, political parties in the House of Representatives have instructed their lawmakers to submit project lists through their respective parliamentary caucuses.
Each directly elected lawmaker has received a directive to propose projects worth Rs 210 million. The Ministry of Finance plans to include these proposals in the budget and implement them through the concerned line ministries.
Although the government has yet to finalize the fund distribution model, lawmakers have already submitted project proposals worth Rs 210 million each through their respective parliamentary parties.
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Lawmaker Rajendra Bajgai from Gorkha district said the Nepali Congress parliamentary party submitted seven proposals, each worth at least Rs 30 million. “We prepared and submitted development and infrastructure-related project proposals as instructed,” he said. Lawmakers prioritized projects focused on roads, drinking water, irrigation, and infrastructure development.
Including projects worth Rs 210 million for each constituency would require around Rs 34 billion. The National Planning Commission has set a budget ceiling of approximately Rs 1.8 trillion for the upcoming GY 2025/26. With revenue collection expected to fall short of the target, the government is facing increased pressure on financial resources.
A source at the Ministry of Finance said Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel plans to consult Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Nepali Congress President and ruling coalition partner Sher Bahadur Deuba before making a final decision on how to incorporate lawmakers’ projects. During a Finance Committee meeting, lawmakers reportedly agreed to include in the budget all projects they recommended, with each worth at least Rs 150 million.
After directly elected lawmakers submitted their project lists, proportional representation lawmakers followed suit. They submitted their proposals through the chief whips of their respective parliamentary parties. CPN-UML Chief Whip Mahesh Bartuala confirmed that his party had collected all project proposals. “We have consolidated the project proposals from all lawmakers,” he said. “But we have yet to finalize how to address them.”
Influential ministers and leaders have allocated more budget to their own constituencies, prompting lawmakers to raise concerns about the resulting imbalance in budget distribution. Although lawmakers primarily hold a legislative role, public expectations for development have pushed them to pressure Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel to allocate funds that support development across all constituencies.
After the Supreme Court (SC) suspended the widely criticized Parliamentary Development Program, Finance Minister Paudel has prepared to address lawmakers’ demands through alternative mechanisms. Once directly elected lawmakers submitted their project lists, proportional representation lawmakers also followed suit by preparing and submitting their own proposals.
Lawmakers from the National Assembly have demanded the right to recommend projects after the government requested development plans from members of the House of Representatives. Previous project recommendations by lawmakers have faced criticism due to irregularities, with several studies revealing corruption, particularly through commissions during project implementation via consumer committees.
The SC had previously halted the "Constituency Infrastructure Development Program," ruling that spending large portions of the national budget amounting to billions of rupees at both federal and provincial levels at the personal discretion of select lawmakers violated principles of planned development and good governance.
The SC emphasized that such discretionary spending in a country with limited financial resources undermined accepted development practices. A legal case was even filed to cancel the program, arguing that allocating unnecessary funds to lawmakers added a financial burden to the state.
Article 75 of the Constitution grants executive authority to the Federal Council, and Article 162 grants executive authority to the Provincial Council. The SC has ruled that it does not assign responsibilities related to executive functions to federal lawmakers and provincial assembly members. A source at the Ministry of Finance stated that the Finance Minister aims to distribute projects in a way that avoids future controversies, in light of this ruling.
