Development ministries poor in budget performance

Kathmandu, Feb. 11

Budget performance of the ministries executing development projects across the country has remained poor in the first half of the current fiscal year 2021/22.

Five ministries responsible for the development work have failed to cross 20 per cent budget mobilisation with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) achieving just 17.10 per cent progress by mid-January 2022, according to the report on the mid-term review of the budget of the current fiscal published by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) the other day.

The MoPIT that got the allocation of Rs. 156.2 billion for the current fiscal has utilised just Rs. 26.7 billion in the first six months. The ministry is responsible for infrastructure development including roads, railways and bridges.

Likewise, the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has used just 18.72 per cent budget.  

The MoUD had got allocation of Rs. 30.7 billion of which only Rs. 5.7 billion is used up while capital expenditure has remained at Rs. 5 billion out of Rs. 28 billion.

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Adminstration's progress is more pathetic with just 12.15 per cent budget mobilisation. Out of Rs. 18.9 billion, it has spent only Rs. 2.3 billion.

Similarly, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Health and Population are among the poor performers with 16.62 per cent and 18.59 per cent spending progress respectively.

The Energy Ministry has Rs. 100.9 billion allocation but it could use only Rs. 18.77 billion in the first half of this year.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation achieved about 27.48 per cent budget progress by spending Rs. 1.63 billion in Rs. 5.94 billion allocation. Likewise, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development has mobilised 24.74 per cent budget. Of the Rs. 36.2 billion budget, it spent Rs. 8.97 billion.

Ministries like Home Affairs (MoHA), Foreign Affairs and Defense have better performance record with 41.35 per cent, 47.9 per cent and 42.7 per cent progress respectively. However, most of their budget is recurrent. For example, of the Rs. 164.5 billon total budget of the MoHA, Rs. 7.8 billion is capital allocation.

In the same line, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has high recurrent budget, and it has achieved the progress of 35.14 per cent by spending Rs. 20.4 billion in Rs. 58.2 billion allocation.  

The Ministry of Forest and Environment has achieved 26.94 per cent progress in Rs. 12.02 billion budget, and the Ministry of Finance 20.34 per cent in Rs. 38.04 billion.

Of the worst, Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security has mobilised just 4.53 per cent of its Rs. 5.97 billion budget. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 February 2022.