Govt to pull back budget if not used within second quarter of FY

Kathmandu / August 6: The Finance Ministry now can pull back the budget allocated to projects if it not used within the second quarter of a fiscal year. The meeting of the finance committee under the federal parliament on Tuesday endorsed the provision which was incorporated in the Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility bill presented at the committee for the discussion.

According to chair Krishna Prasad Dahal of the committee, the provision would allow the finance ministry to pull back the budget which is not used within the second quarter of the fiscal year and could be used in other projects.

Speaking at the meeting, Finance Minister Yubaraj Khatiwada claimed that this provision would stop the misuse of the budget during the end of the fiscal year. He maintained that the stagnant budget could be used in other programs and projects.

The bill would also mandatorily oblige the ministers and secretaries to monitor and evaluate the implementation of projects or programs and budget of their concerned ministries.