Hetauda, March 22: The spending capacity of Bagmati Province has remained significantly low this fiscal year, with only 25.62% of the total allocated budget utilized in the first eight months (mid-July to mid-March) of the fiscal year 2081/82.
According to Indaraj Sanyal, Information Officer at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning, out of the total Rs 64.05 billion budget, only Rs 10.05 billion has been spent so far. The expenditure includes 35.22% of current expenditure and 19.94% of capital expenditure.
Among provincial offices, the Office of the Provincial Chief Attorney recorded the highest spending at 47.69%, followed by the Provincial Assembly Secretariat at 38.22%. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Cooperatives reported the lowest expenditure at just 9.79%.
Revenue collection in Bagmati Province has also been declining annually. In the first eight months of this fiscal year, the provincial government has collected only 38.13% of its targeted revenue.
The government had set a revenue collection target of Rs 29.55 billion, but only Rs 13.90 billion (47.03%) has been collected so far. Similarly, the province expected Rs 15.57 billion in federal government grants but received Rs 8.18 billion (52.58%) during this period.
For internal revenue, the province aimed to collect Rs 4.53 billion, but only Rs 2.37 billion (52.41%) was raised.
In the last fiscal year (2080/81), Bagmati Province collected Rs 39.22 billion, falling short of its Rs 48.25 billion target by Rs 9.31 billion. Similarly, in the 2079/80 fiscal year, the province’s revenue collection was 17% below projections.
Hari Prasad Upadhyay, Chief of the Bagmati Provincial Treasury and Controller of Accounts Office, attributed the declining revenue to lower tax collections, reduced income from natural resource extraction fees, land revenue, and the federal government withdrawing some projects due to the economic downturn. #revenue #bagmati
