Kathmandu. Despite the formation of a three-tier government in the country, the number of people requesting budgets at Singha Durbar has not decreased. As the budget preparation work for the upcoming fiscal year 2082-83 progresses, people from public representatives to leaders have been taking their plans to Singha Durbar.
Relevant government officials have said that there is a rush of people requesting budgets for small and small projects. Physical, Infrastructure and Transport Secretary Keshav Kumar Sharma said that budgets have been requested for 12 to 14 thousand projects and that the rush at Singha Durbar has not decreased because there is no restriction on making demands.
He said, ‘Budgets have been requested for 12-14 thousand projects. There is no restriction on making demands, you make demands. There is no policy at present. If a policy is made, will there be a system at the center that does not ask for budget?’ According to him, if a policy is made, there should be no question of not accepting it. He believes that if there is a clear policy that the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure will not look into projects other than national highways, there will be no need to ask for budget.
He said that since the budget is being allocated under various names, there is a tendency to run to Singha Durbar in hopes of asking for budget for the project. According to Physical Secretary Sharma, this problem will be solved if the nation formulates a policy and creates a clear framework for the mechanism for reviewing the plan.
Just like that, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel is running to the residence of Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and to the residence of CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal to seek suggestions on the plan and budget.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel consulted with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba about the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the secretariat said. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Poudel had reached Deuba’s residence in Budhanilkantha and sought suggestions from Congress President Deuba on what plans and programs to bring in the budget.
Similarly, on Tuesday, Poudel had reached Khumaltar and sought suggestions from Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on plans and programs regarding the budget and programs. As the Finance Minister’s rush is geared towards pleasing everyone, people’s representatives and leaders are also scrambling to budget for their plans in Singha Darbar.
Even local level employees have not stopped participating in this scrambling. The Local Level Employees Association Nepal has submitted a 10-point memorandum to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, demanding that their concerns be included in the upcoming budget.
The association’s team, led by Punya Dhakal, President of the Professional Federation Nepal, a party affiliated with the CPN-UML, has demanded that a separate hospital be set up for local level employees and that their families be allowed to receive medical treatment in the civil hospital until that happens.
It has been demanded that employees working on contract services at the local level be included in the Social Security Fund and that their salaries be increased equally based on price increases.
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