KATHMANDU, Sept 19: Ministry for Finance has denied any possibility of bringing supplementary budget for the current fiscal year.

Stating that supplementary budget is not required at the moment, the ministry officials have ruled out the possibility of bringing such budget that is brought to meet new or additional expenses.

“The constitution has provisions about supplementary budget. We will work accordingly,” Rajan Khanal, secretary at the MoF, said, referring to a constitutional provision that states that supplementary budget cannot be introduced until the mid-term review of the budget.

Speaking a press meet organized in Kathmandu on Tuesday, Minister of Finance Yuba Raj Khatiwada dismissed the suggestion, more explicitly from a section of leaders from the ruling party, of the ministry coming up with supplementary budget.

“If there is a need to spend in a certain sector or there is excess revenue collection that needs to be spent, generally after the mid-term review of the budget, we have to think about supplementary budget,” Khatiwada said. “We have not held any discussion about it."

The ministry's refusal comes amid speculations that the government is preparing to bring supplementary budget to accommodate policies and programs that the ruling party has included in its election manifesto. The speculation got further weight after the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) co-chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal made public remarks about the possibility of the supplementary budget.

Earlier last week, Dahal had said that that the government will bring a supplementary budget to accommodate the plans and programs which did not feature in the budget speech unveiled in mid-July. Dahal also reiterated his statement about supplementary budget at a media briefing that he held at the Tribhuvan International Airport upon his arrival from India. At the briefing, he had said that he will hold discussions with Prime Minister Oli for bringing supplementary budget.

Finance Minister Khatiwada has been facing criticisms from some leaders of his party who say that the ministry did not include some populist programs like increment in allowance to elderly people in the budget.

FinMin says central govt under double stress

Meanwhile, Minister for Finance Yuba Raj Khatiwada has said that the central government is going to be under 'double stress' as the central government has to devolve resources as conditional grants for implementation of some projects but local level governments are not willing to construct them.

"We have devolved down the financial resources. And they have to implement the projects at the sub-national levels. It seems that the central government would be in double stress," said Khatiwada, addressing an event organized by the World Bank in Kathmandu on Tuesday as the keynote speaker. "Revenue is shared [with local level governments], and we have to take all the projects that we have in the central level."

According to Khatiwada, unwillingness from the provincial governments to take up projects from the central government could be either out of ignorance or may be out of their non-interest to implement those projects.

 
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