November 23: The capital expenditure of provincial governments stands below five percent in the first four months of the current fiscal year. At a time when the federal government is being criticised for its poor capital expenditure, data of capital expenditure of the provincial governments is also found to be significantly low. 

According to Financial Comptroller General Office of Province 2, the province has spent only two percent of the allocated budget of Rs 18.05 billion. Likewise, Bagmati Province has spent only 4.85 percent of the development budget of Rs 29.70 billion allocated for the current fiscal year.

The Gandaki Province has allocated Rs 16.73 billion under development expenditure. It has spent eight percent of the budget during the review period. Initially the Gandaki Province government had announced a capital budget of Rs 21.17 billion for the current fiscal year. However, the new government formed under the leadership of CPN (Maoist Centre) replaced the previous budget brought through an ordinance and downsized the budget. The new provincial government was occupied in the expansion of the cabinet for a long time and is preparing to introduce the work procedure to spend the budget after in the beginning of the second quarter.

Similarly, the Lumbini Province has only made a capital expenditure of 2.83 percent of the allocated budget in the first four months of the current fiscal year. According to the Provincial Financial Comptroller General Office, Butwal, of the allocated budget of Rs 22.47, only Rs 635.7 million has been spent.

Province 1 had allocated Rs 15.5 billion budget for capital expenditure in the current fiscal year 2021/22.  Suman Dahal, Provincial Secretary at the Financial Comptroller General, Biratnagar, said about 15 percent of the allocated budget has been spent in the first quarter. He said that Province 1 has increased capital expenditure compared to other states and has been working aggressively. The data shows development expenditure of Province 1 is relatively  higher than other provinces.

Meanwhile, Karnali Province has made a capital expenditure of only 2.9 percent while the Far Western Province has also spent only 3.54 percent of the allocated budget.

According to Jagadish Chandra Pokhrel, former vice-chairman of the National Planning Commission, the development budget could not be spent as expected due to increasing political instability in the provinces like in the federal government. He believes that political leadership's focus was shifted in forming and toppling the government rather than on development activities.