Kankrebihar (Surkhet), July 13: The Karnali province government has been able to utilise only 61.97 percent of the allocated budget in the current fiscal year.
Ratna Subedi, Chief of Province Controller of Treasury office, in the current fiscal 2082-83 BS (2025-26), the budget of Rs 33.19 billion was allocated to the province, while the utilisation amounted to Rs 20.57 billion. The remaining Rs 12.62 billion has been returned to the state’s coffer.
According to the data, Rs 9.25 billion, out of the current budget of Rs 12.59 billion, has been spent. The budget utilisation towards the current expenditures stands at 73.48 percent.
Towards capital expenditures, the achievement is only 55.74 percent, as Rs 11.13 billion out of the total allocation of Rs 19.98 billion was utilised.
Towards fiscal management, the implementation is restricted to 28.86 percent, as Rs 177.5 million, out of the total budget of Rs 615 million, was utilised.
The ministry-wise expenditure figures show that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law has recorded the highest budget utilisation with 93.67 percent implementation, followed by the Office of Chief Attorney with 88.09 percent, the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy Development with 75.98 percent, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Planning with 74.08 percent, the Ministry of Social Development with 72.49 percent, and the Karnali Province Planning Commission with 9.86 percent.
The expenditure progress of the Province Legislature stands at 67.53 percent. Similarly, the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forest and Environment has reported the 64.27 percent expenditures, the Ministry of Land Management, Agriculture and Cooperatives 57.09 percent, the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers 55.24 percent, and the Province Public Service Commission 52.82 percent.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development has reported the lowest budget utilisation, spending only Rs 5.41 billion out of the total allocations of Rs 11 billion. The ministry’s overall expenditure progress has been limited to 49.20 percent.
Similarly, 28.86 percent of the budget allocated under the fiscal management has been spent, while Rs 9.86 billion allocated under the finance-miscellaneous headings has remained totally unspent.
Although the Karnali government has reported relatively better progress in current expenditure, the data shows that capital expenditure directly related to the areas concerning development and construction has not reached the expected level, affecting the overall budget implementation index.
