Kathmandu, June 20: Lawmaker of the CPN (Maoist Centre), Shakti Bahadur Basnet, has presented a proposal seeking to reduce by one rupee in the expenditure amount under the headings of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport under the Appropriation Bill, 2025. Presenting the proposal in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives, Basnet expressed disagreement, citing though the budget of the Ministry has increased, it was not allocated in justified manner.
“The budget was not allocated for the development of road infrastructures in some constituency areas. What could be more irresponsible that this?” he argued.
Basnet mentioned, “Budget has also reduced in major corridors. Some districts have lots of budget for infrastructure development while no budget on this heading in other districts. It is not fair.”
Ram Kumar Rai from the main opposition party, the CPN (Maoist Centre), has proposed to reduce the budget amount allocated for the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies under the Appropriation Bill, 2025 by one rupee.
“We have been raising our voices in favour of promoting exports. For this, we need to market local alcohol and there is no budget allocated for domestic industries such as jute mills and the bamboo industry. Similarly, budget has not been allocated for manufacturing modern agricultural tools. No budget has been set aside for self-reliance either,” Rai said while presenting the proposal in today’s meeting of the House of Representatives.
Devendra Paudel from the Maoist Center has proposed to reduce the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, and Poverty Alleviation by one rupee under the Appropriation Bill, 2025.
Presenting the proposal, Paudel expressed disagreement, saying that although land was promised to Dalits, landless people, squatters, and those without proper documentation, there was no mention in the budget about how the land would be made available to them.
“The budget could not address the real issues of the people,” he alleged.
Likewise, lawmaker from the Nepal Workers and Peasants Party (NWPP) Prem Suwal has proposed to reduce the allocated amount mentioned in the Appropriation Bill of 2025 for the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, and the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation.
Presenting the proposal, MP Suwal said issues such as the need to ensure rights of the farmers and workers and increasing agricultural production have not been prioritized in the budget, emphasizing that investment in hydropower production needs to be increased.
