By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, June 8: Inter-ministerial post-budget discussion continued on Sunday in both the Houses of Federal Parliament. More than 60 lawmakers of various parliamentary parties took part in the session and expressed their concerns over annual estimates for FY 2020/21.
Lawmakers and leaders debated on the annual budget allocation to various seven ministries, including the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the National Planning Commission and Office of the President and Vice President on Sunday.
Parliament Secretariat has a tentative schedule to respond to the questions raised on the budget of line ministers during the session in the House on Monday. According to Rojnath Pandey, secretary in the Parliament Secretariat, the House sessions would be short and smart.
“As we are passing through a crucial phase of COVID-19 pandemic, the session will be quick and smart,” he added.
Like previous days of the post-budget session, the lawmakers of the ruling Nepal Communist Party defended budget draft of the government in the House on Sunday. “A realistic budget has arrived, focus on execution is essential now,” they said.
Former Minister Bhim Rawal said that budget was realistic somehow and required focus on public delivery. Rs 1.5 million allocation for ‘Inter-country Transmission Lines’ was not appropriate in his view.
“Duty discount on chocolate but increased tax rates on fertiliser is not the spirit of socialism, it needs correction,” he said.
Rawal was also unhappy about the revised tax rates on electric vehicles. “The budget discourages electric vehicle purchase but encourages vehicles that run with petroleum, which is against our own election manifesto,” he added.
However, leaders and lawmakers of the opposition parties criticised the budget. NC leader Balkrishna Khand said that the allocation on flood, inundation and landslide was not enough. “The government should be responsible to save life from natural disasters in the hills and plain areas,” he added.
Khand was worried about converting public schools into isolation wards for the COVID-19 patients but running private schools in the country. “It’s an irresponsible proposition, opposition will not accept this,” he said.
Khand also said the government did not allocate even a single penny for the development of Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpiyadhura in the budget. “Publishing a map is not enough,” he said.
Khand was dissatisfied with tax increased on electric vehicles. He named the government as a ‘chocolaty government’ and said a socialism-oriented government ironically increased taxes on priority products but provided incentives on non-priority products.
Similarly, NC leader Minendra Rijal said that the document went out of track. “The budget cannot strengthen or lead the economy on the right track because the situation is still unpredictable due to the pandemic,” he said.
Rijal also said that the traditional budget could not implement federalism properly.