Kathmandu, 11 June : Lawmaker and former Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel has said the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2023-24 has failed to accept the reality of economic slowdown and to fall in line with the government policies and programmes.
Taking part in the deliberations on the government’s estimations of its annual revenue and expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year in a meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) today, he said priorities and plans mentioned in the new policies and programmes were not given a space in the budget.
“This budget lacks a coherence and consistency with its policies and programmes and principles and priorities,” he said, adding that it was inconsistent with the policies and programmes. Matters of granting a discount on electricity tariff (up to 30 units in winter and up to 50 units during the monsoon) and the programme to develop the Geta Medical College as the Dashrathchand Medical University are missing in the budget,” he said.
The budget has failed to recognize the existing economic issues, assess its challenges and opportunities and present possible ways for the solutions, according to the leader. “Economic growth below 2.16 percent, 7.5 percent consumer price inflation, current account deficit worth over Rs 54 billion and the situation suggesting the negative reserve fund by Rs two billion by the end of the current fiscal year have not been addressed by the budget,” he said.
