Janakpur, July 10: Madhes Province has spent 60 percent of its total budget for the current fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Finance. Finance Secretary Ram Mahato stated that, as of the preparation of this report, 60.13 percent of the total provincial budget had been utilized.

By the afternoon of Asar 25 (July 9), over Rs 26 billion had been spent across both recurrent and capital expenditure headings. However, until Asar 5 (June 19), the provincial government had managed to spend only 22.47 percent of the total budget—amounting to Rs 9.86 billion. This means the province disbursed more than Rs 16.25 billion within just 20 days. Secretary Mahato added that the expenditure might rise by another 5 percent by midnight.

Ministries Spending Below 50 Percent

By Asar 25, all ministries except four had spent more than half of their allocated budget. Among the lower spenders was the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, which had spent only 32.01 percent—or Rs 153.4 million—of its total allocation. The Ministry of Labour and Transport recorded the lowest expenditure, having spent only 34.52 percent (Rs 286.7 million). The Ministry of Land Management and Agriculture spent 40.46 percent (Rs 1.04 billion), while the Ministry of Sports utilized 48.36 percent of its budget, amounting to Rs 841.1 million.

Ministries Spending Above 50 Percent

Seven ministries managed to spend over 50 percent of their annual allocation. The Ministry of Finance topped the list with 79.39 percent expenditure, equivalent to Rs 123.1 million. The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies followed with 54.96 percent (Rs 1.51 billion), and the Ministry of Energy, Irrigation, and Drinking Water utilized 60.80 percent of its budget, or Rs 3.46 billion. Similarly, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Communication, and Law spent 64.98 percent (Rs 459 million), the Ministry of Forest and Environment 71.29 percent (Rs 1.77 billion), the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure 63.55 percent (Rs 9.08 billion), and the Ministry of Health and Population 50.58 percent (Rs 2.66 billion). The Ministry of Education also showed strong performance, spending 65.36 percent of its total budget.

Why the Surge in Spending Toward Fiscal Year-End?

Finance Secretary Mahato explained that payments for projects were currently being disbursed across all ministries. He noted that most tenders had been awarded earlier and implementation had been ongoing, which led to the sharp rise in payments in recent weeks. He claimed that all works were completed as per contract and that the current spike in expenditure was due to final payments being cleared within the last 20 days of the fiscal year. He clarified, however, that the figures do not reflect only recent work, but also payments for completed projects earlier in the year. According to him, the increase in construction activity and contract settlements in Asar (mid-June to mid-July) drove the spending upward.

In contrast, Madhes Province had spent only 55 percent of its total budget in the previous fiscal year, as per data from the Ministry of Finance.

People’s News Monitoring Service