April 15: The government has not been able to spend the budget under the specified headings even in the current fiscal year (FY).

Instead of spending the budget for its allocated purposes, the Ministry of Finance has been transferring funds from one budget heading to another, which goes against financial discipline

Within one month after Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun took charge of the Finance Ministry, the government transferred Rs 1.63 billion from one heading to another.

Similarly, the government has amended programmes worth Rs 263 billion.

As of mid-April of the current fiscal year, the government has transferred and spent Rs 36.5 billion from the miscellaneous heading to other headings, citing the reason that the allocated budget was not being utilized under the miscellaneous heading.

Transferring money from one budget heading to another is called a budget transfer. Similarly, spending budget by transferring the money from one agency to another agency or from one programme to another programme under the same budget heading is called programme amendment.

In mid-March to mid-April, the highest amount of money was transferred to agencies under the Ministry of Health, amounting to Rs 644 million. Similarly, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport transferred Rs 488.6 million in the review month.

The government transferred Rs 3.2 million for the health sector improvement program to pay the salaries and allowances of doctors and health workers working under scholarship contracts. The government has released Rs 148.5 million to cover the cost of medical treatment for kidney transplant patients, dialysis patients, cancer patients and spinal paralysis patients.

Under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Rs 7 million have been spent for the construction of the Mahakali Corridor (Brahmdev-Jhulaghat-Darchula-Tinkar). Similarly, Rs 296,000 has been released for the employees the North-South Highway (Karnali, Kaligandaki and Koshi). An amount of Rs 250.9 million has been transferred to the offices under strategic roads, bridges and bridge protection projects.

Similarly, the government has released Rs 22.4 million under the Industrial Infrastructure Development Program to Industrial District Management Limited for loan investment.

The government has also transferred budget allocated under the Ministry of Defence for army headquarters, Directorate of Air Force of Nepalese Army, Birendra Military Hospital (including Post Accident Center) and programmes under the National Service Corps.

A program of Rs 557.2 million has been revised and sent under the Integrated Health Infrastructure Development Programme under the Ministry of Health to be spent from the local level.

Upon the request of the Department of Animal Services under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, a program worth Rs 480 million has been revised. Likewise, the government has revised a programme or Rs 45.45 million under the Ministry of Urban Development and Rs 1.81 million under the province. Likewise, the government has disbursed Rs 1.63 billion to the Nepal Electricity Authority as the government's loan investment.

The Financial Procedures and Financial Responsibility Act has a provision that allows the government to transfer budget, revise programmes and make additional disbursements if the budget cannot be spent on the allocated heading.

However, rather than following the law, it seems that the practice of transferring money arbitrarily has been increasing in recent years. According to former secretary Gopinath Mainali, the government can transfer budget in case of emergency or natural calamities. Otherwise, it has to follow the standard budget procedure.

However, Mainali says that the government has started taking this matter lightly.

According to him, the government has not maintained financial discipline.

The existing laws do not allow transfer of more than 10 percent of the budget every year.

Finance ministry officials state that efforts are underway to increase budget expenditure while adhering to legal provisions.

"The ministry has revised the money transfer program from unspent projects and increased expenditure under various headings," said a senior official of the Budget Division of the Ministry of Finance.