Committee seeks details on budget reallocation in five days
KATHMANDU:
A parliamentary committee on public accounts today instructed all ministries, secretariats and constitutional bodies to submit details on funds that were reallocated from one budget heading to the other this fiscal year and reasons for such transfers within the next five days.
The committee has also sought details on extension of extra budget and fund reallocation that took place in the last five years.
The calls were made after lawmakers complained that the information on fund reallocation provided by the Ministry of Finance last week was ‘not sufficient to ascertain whether such funds went to non-budgetary programmes and areas where anomalies took place’.
Finance Ministry data showed transfer of Rs 35.31 billion from one budget head to another this fiscal year. Of this amount, Rs 20.76 billion was transferred among budget heads of the same ministry, while Rs 14.56 billion was transferred from the budget head of one ministry to the budget head of another ministry.
“Fund reallocation is a normal practice and it happens every year. But we want to know whether transfers were made to projects that were not enrolled in this year’s budget programme,” lawmaker Balkrishna Khaad said, adding, “If transfers were made to non-budgetary programmes then its impact on the country’s development process should also be explained.”
Other lawmakers who took part in today’s parliamentary committee meeting also spoke on the same line.
“We have come to know that funds have been transferred even to small projects worth Rs 200,000 to Rs 500,000. Such transfers are said to have been made on the instruction of those who are influential. This practice of serving the interest of the influential lot should come to an end,” lawmaker Pashupati Chaulagain said.
He was referring to transfers made by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, which has faced accusations of transferring funds to constituencies of ministers and other influential politicians.
The Finance Ministry data show that biggest fund reallocation of Rs 6.71 billion was reported by the Ministry of Physical
Infrastructure and Transport this fiscal, followed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Rs 4.94 billion) and the Ministry of Defence (Rs 4.09 billion). Among others, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development reported fund reallocation of Rs 2.94 billion and the Ministry of Urban Development Rs 2.18 billion.
“It is surprising to see that funds allotted to ministries like home affairs and defence, which always complain about low
allocation of budget, were reallocated this fiscal,” Khaad said.
“We want to know whether there was serious lapse in planning and they were extended budget for projects that they had not applied for.... All we want to know are reasons that caused funds to be transferred from one budget head to another.”
Lawmaker Mahendra Raya Yadav said a committee should be established and a full-fledged investigation should be launched into fund transfers that took place this year.
Source: THT
