Cap expenditure of few ministries too low

KATHMANDU, APR 09 -

Capital expenditure of some ministries and government agencies fell way short of the target in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

Total expenditure reached Rs 13.42 billion, or 26.14 percent of the allocated budget. Government offices with a relatively lower capital budget allocation were not able to spend even the small amount they had been given.

According to the Finance Ministry, the National Human Rights Commission which received a budget allocation of Rs 2.3 million did not spend even a single penny of it.

Likewise, the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare spent 0.25 percent of its share. The ministry spent a mere Rs 98,000 out of the Rs 39.71 million set aside under the capital budget heading.

The ministries of Commerce and Supplies, Justice and Defence and the National Planning Commission also reported one of the lowest capital expenditure s, according to the Finance Ministry.

The Justice Ministry spent 2.06 percent of its budget while the Defence Ministry’s capital expenditure reached 3.99 percent.

“Ministries which have a small capital budget have lower expenditure ,” said Finance Ministry spokesperson Krishna Prasad Devkota.

“It will not severely affect development activities as ministries with a huge capital budget have a relatively higher expenditure .”

The overall expenditure of some ministries and government offices was less than that of the last fiscal year.

The dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in May 2012 resulted in a massive decline in  its expenditure this year. The budget allocation under this heading was

slashed by 78 percent to Rs 467 million.

The Finance Ministry’s policy financing dropped 71 percent to Rs 6.27 billion while the expenditure of the Prime Minister’s Office also fell 55 percent to Rs 2.61 billion.

Source: The Kathmandu Post