By Our Correspondent
Hetauda, ​​Jan. 19: Despite an increase in the size of the total budget of the Bagmati Province government, expenditure during the first six months of the current fiscal year 2021/22 has been less compared to the same period last fiscal year.

The government has spent only around 15 per cent of the total allocation of Rs. 57.77 billion for the current fiscal year. Only Rs. 8.74 billion (15.14 per cent) has been spent as of mid-January of the current fiscal year.

The government had spent Rs. 8.36 billion (16.27 per cent) of the total allocation of Rs. 51.42 billion during the first six months of the last fiscal year.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bagmati, Hetauda, said that out of the recurrent budget allocation of Rs. 25.72 billion for the current fiscal year, only Rs. 2.16 billion (19.52 per cent) has been spent by the end of the first six months.

Similarly, out of Rs. 30.48 billion allocated for capital, the province government has spent only Rs. 3.48 billion (10.07 per cent).
Netra Narasingh Karki, Accounts Officer of the Office of Comptroller and Auditor General, Bagmati, Hetauda, informed that of the Rs. 2 billion allocated for financial management in the current fiscal year, only 35 per cent or Rs. 700 million has been spent so far.

The province government had claimed that the expenditure capacity of the government would increase after the split of the ministries.
In August last year, the Ministry of Social Development was split creating the Ministry of Health.

In the last fiscal year, the Ministry of Social Development had spent 17.82 per cent or Rs 1.17 billion out of Rs. 6.58 billion.  The budget for the current fiscal year has been increased to Rs. 11.85 billion in the name of the Ministry of Social Development.

Even after the creation of the new ministry (Health Ministry), only 11.43 per cent or Rs. 1.35 billion has been spent till mid-January.
 According to the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bagmati, the budget allocation for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of the current fiscal year is Rs. 21.19 billion. But it has spent only Rs. 2.76 billion (13.02 per cent) of the allocation by mid-January.

Karki said that even though the government has split the ministries, the budget and expenditure details are still available in the name of the previously existing ministries due to the system and the ministry-wise budget and expenditure details can be made available only after a few weeks.