Far-Western Province Government Faces Budget Vacuum Second Time

Dhangadhi. Within the tenure of the second provincial assembly formed after the 2079 elections following the implementation of federalism, the Sudurpaschim Province government has reached a state of budget vacuum for the second time. The government led by Chief Minister Kamal Bahadur Shah has lost its majority before the budget could be passed, thus ending the possibility of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2083-84 being passed by the Provincial Assembly. The government is now preparing to bring an advance budget through an ordinance to manage the province's essential expenditures. Thursday is the last day of the current fiscal year 2082-83. As per the constitution, the budget for the new fiscal year must be passed by the Provincial Assembly by this day. However, with the change in the power equation and the government falling into a minority, the possibility of the budget being passed has been averted. The government is preparing to end the current session of the Provincial Assembly and issue an ordinance on July 1st. Since a full budget cannot be brought through an ordinance, preparations are underway to bring an advance budget solely for essential expenditures such as staff salaries and allowances, administrative expenses, and the operation of essential services. A full budget will be brought after a new government is formed. The possibility of a new government being formed today is also slim as the government does not have a majority in the Provincial Assembly. Therefore, the situation has arisen where the provincial government will have to operate its administration without a regular budget at the beginning of the new fiscal year. The main opposition, the CPN, has also acknowledged that the government is in a situation where it cannot pass the budget, stating that bringing an ordinance for expenditure is natural. CPN Parliamentary Party leader Khagaraj Bhatta has said that the government must make the necessary legal arrangements as the province's daily administration and essential services should not be halted. This is the second time the Sudurpaschim Province has faced a budget vacuum. Previously, at the beginning of the fiscal year 2081/82, the government led by then Chief Minister Dirgha Bahadur Sodari also fell into a minority before the budget could be passed. After the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) withdrew from the government, the province faced a budget vacuum for about a month due to the inability to pass the budget in the Provincial Assembly. At that time, due to the budget not being passed, services such as vehicle registration and renewal, land registration, revenue collection, and other government services were affected. Opposition parties had accused the government and ruling coalition parties of pushing the province into a budget vacuum by not discussing the budget in a timely manner. The government claims there is one significant difference this year compared to last year. The Timely Revenue Collection Act, 2081, has already been passed by the Provincial Assembly, so employees say there is a legal basis for collecting revenues such as agricultural income tax, vehicle tax, land registration fees, and tourism fees. Because of this, it is expected that revenue collection will not come to a complete halt as it did last year. However, it is certain that the implementation of new plans, expenditure of development budgets, and operation of new programs will be affected until a full budget is introduced. The first provincial assembly, formed in 2074, did not experience a budget vacuum during its five-year term. However, within the tenure of the second provincial assembly formed after 2079, the provincial government has reached a state of budget vacuum twice. Both times, the regular budget process was disrupted after the government fell into a minority before the budget could be passed.