November 22: Although it is mandatory for the local units to present their budget in the village council to manage the expenditure for the new fiscal year, 30 local units have tried to spend illegally without presenting the budget for the current fiscal year.

According to the Local Government Operation Act, 2074 and the Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangement Act, all local levels must bring a budget within June 23 and no expenditure can be made without passing the budget. The budget goes to the local level from the federal government through four types of grants, revenue sharing and natural resource allocation.

Based on the same sources, the local level should make an estimated budget and submit it to the village council in time as per the constitutional provision. However, these local levels are running the expenses for four months by violating the provision.

Basant Adhikari, joint secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, said that the local levels have ignored the circular twice to bring the budget on time.

According to the ministry, out of 136 local levels of Province 2, a total of 25 local units are spending without presenting their budget. Six local levels from Dhanusha district, five from Rautahat, four from Bara, three each from Siraha and Parsa, two from Saptari, and one each from Mahottari and Sarlahi have not presented their budget.

Although 116 out of 119 local levels of Bagmati Pradesh have submitted budget, three local levels have not been able to present their budget. Likewise, out of 137 local levels of Province 1, two have not submitted their budget yet.

Altogether 85 local levels in Gandaki, 109 in Lumbini, 79 in Karnali and 88 in the far-western region have already presented their respective budget.

The main reason for the failure of most of the local levels to present their budget is the quarrel among the people's representatives. According to federal affairs ministry, the local levels that have not submitted the budget have been repeatedly instructed to submit their budget and they have also written to the Ministry of Finance for further action.  

According to Adhikari, letters have been sent to the finance ministry to stop the grants to those local units for not bringing the budget within the stipulated time. As they do not have the authority to take action, he said that the recommendation has already been made and the grants will be stopped.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the government has the right to withhold the financial equalization grants to the local levels if they do not bring the budget on time. Ministry officials say that the government will be forced to stop such grants if they try to run the expenditure without bringing the budget. “Expenditure made after July 16 without presenting the budget on June 24 is unconstitutional and illegal. We will stop the grant,” said a senior official at the finance ministry.