Govt to use 'all possible means' to pass budget NRB urged to probe treasury position
REPUBLICA
KATHMANDU, Nov 1: Finance Minister Surendra Pandey has disclosed that the government is planning to pass the fiscal budget from the parliament within the next 10 days by using ´all possible means´ to avoid a looming fiscal crisis in the country.
However, he tactfully avoided to elaborate what he meant of ´all possible means´, but stressed that the government will not escape away from the parliamentary process to endorse the fiscal budget. "I am confident that the parliament will pass the budget within the next seven to 10 days and I do have a number of strong bases to support my belief," he told a press conference organized by the Ministry of Finance on Sunday.
Minister Pandey spent a sizable amount of energy to explain why the nation will plunge into a dire fiscal consequence, if the fiscal budget is not okayed by the parliament within mid- November.
"Almost all the essential services related to health, education and jails will come into a complete halt if the budget is not approved soon because expenditures on some headings have already crossed the one-third of the expenditure ceiling," he told the pressmen.
As per law, the government is not allowed to expend more than one-third of the proposed budget for the current fiscal year tabled at the parliament. Pandey also said that government employees might not able to get full salary for the current month. "In addition, the government will not be able to provide food allowances to inmates and it will have to stop releasing essential expenditures to hospital that is used in funding food to the patients," he highlighted the possible consequences.
According to a press release issued at the program, 13 out of 30 expenditure headings related to essential services have crossed the one-third limit while majority of the remaining headings are close to crossing the ceiling. However, the expenditures of nine headings are still below 30 percent.
Minister Pandey said that expenditure pressure is at its climax for recurrent expenditure but underlined that the government has no problems in dealing with capital expenditures -- the fund that mainly goes for financing development activities.
NRB urged to probe treasury position
KATHMANDU, Nov 1: Finance Ministry has expressed dissatisfaction over huge variation seen in the important statistics related to treasury position of the country and has urged the central bank to look into the matter.
A press release issued by Ministry of Finance on Sunday stated that the overall treasury position of the country was in surplus of Rs 3.25 billion in a weekly statement issued by the central bank at the end of last fiscal year.
As a result of surplus treasury position, the government mobilized Rs 6.60 billion less internal loans than planned for last year. However, all of sudden, the central bank, in its third amendment of the treasury position issued on September 20 this year, stated that the overall treasury position was in deficit by Rs 7.99 billion. Though there used to be minor adjustments in the past, the variation of such an extent is worrisome, stated the release.
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Govt To Use 'all Possible Means' To Pass Budget NRB Urged To Probe Treasury Position
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