KATHMANDU, April 13: The annual report of the Office of the Auditor General has questioned the spending of Rs 29.7 million by the federal parliament for decorating the chamber of National Assembly (NA) chairperson Ganesh Timilsina and secretary Rajendra Phuyal.
The parliament secretariat had spent the budget by awarding the contract to 20 different firms to skip the public procurement process. “The public procurement law has made it mandatory to follow a bidding process while making procurement above Rs 2 million. But the parliament secretariat has been found to be spending Rs 29.7 million for maintenance and purchase of different goods without following the procurement process,” reads the report.
OAG report questions Upper House chair’s chamber decoration
The OAG has stated that Rs 74 million has been found as arrears at the parliament secretariat under different heads. Rs 36.9 million spent for allowances to parliament staffers without the prior consent from the Ministry of Finance has been also questioned by the OAG report. The OAG has demanded that the government recover the amount from the individuals concerned.
The parliament secretariat had provided 80 percent extra allowances on the salary to its staffers until mid-July 2018 without consent from the Finance Ministry.
