Karnali Province Utilises 61.97% of FY 2082/83 Budget, Capital Spending Remains Below Expectations

The Karnali Province Government has utilised only 61.97 percent of its allocated budget in the current fiscal year, with capital expenditure remaining significantly below the targeted level.

According to Ratna Subedi, Chief of the Province Controller of Treasury Office, the province was allocated a budget of Rs 33.19 billion for the fiscal year 2082/83 (2025/26). Of this, only Rs 20.57 billion was spent, while the remaining Rs 12.62 billion was returned to the state treasury.

Official data shows that Rs 9.25 billion of the Rs 12.59 billion allocated for recurrent expenditure has been utilised, achieving a spending rate of 73.48 percent.

Capital expenditure, however, reached only 55.74 percent, with Rs 11.13 billion spent out of the total Rs 19.98 billion allocated for development projects.

Similarly, fiscal management expenditure stood at just 28.86 percent, with only Rs 177.5 million spent from the allocated Rs 615 million.

Among provincial ministries, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law recorded the highest budget utilisation at 93.67 percent, followed by the Office of the Chief Attorney (88.09 percent), the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy Development (75.98 percent), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning (74.08 percent), the Ministry of Social Development (72.49 percent), and the Karnali Province Planning Commission (69.86 percent).

The Province Assembly recorded an expenditure rate of 67.53 percent. Likewise, the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment spent 64.27 percent of its budget, the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives 57.09 percent, the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers 55.24 percent, and the Province Public Service Commission 52.82 percent.

The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development recorded the lowest budget utilisation, spending only Rs 5.41 billion out of its Rs 11 billion allocation, equivalent to 49.20 percent.

Meanwhile, only 28.86 percent of the budget earmarked for fiscal management was utilised, while the entire Rs 9.86 billion allocated under the finance-miscellaneous heading remained unspent.

Although the province reported comparatively stronger performance in recurrent expenditure, the low level of capital spending on development and infrastructure projects significantly affected the overall budget implementation rate.