‘Budget stresses on production area’

 Kathmandu, June 4 . Lawmaker Haricharan Siwakoti has said that the incumbent government has brought the budget for the coming fiscal year 2019/20 in a way education is ensured to children from poor families and martyrs families.

During a discussion in today’s meeting of the National Assembly on budget for the FY 2019/20, he clarified that the budget has made arrangements where contractors are responsible to reconstruct physical infrastructures if they get damaged within five years of construction.

Saying the budget has incorporated achievement of the national goal of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepalis’ in a practical manner, lawmaker Bina Pokharel stressed the need for its full enforcement. Similarly, Sher Bahadur Kunwar said that the budget has focused on production sector, and has incorporated all sectors.

Likewise, Khem Kumar Bishwokarma said that the budget has brought happiness in the face of the people while Thagendra Prakash Puri said that it has incorporated backward communities, education, health and agriculture sectors.

Similarly, Ram Narayan Bidari said, “Budget is naturally distributive. The important factor is how and where it is distributed.”

Anita Devkota accused the budget of being derailed from the principle of fiscal discipline and austerity and being a distributive one. Ramprit Paswan charged the government with suppressing the potentiality and viability of local and state level by reserving a huge 70 percent of the total budget for the federal government.

Komal Oli said the budget came as a ‘document of people’s aspirations, presenting a clear vision of development with social justice. Budget’s focus on modernisation and commercialisation was its essence. Suman Raj Pyakurel said it was welcoming that the budget had put the senior citizens at the center, incorporating the people from all caste and community in the society.

Rameshjung Rayamajhi was of the view that the budget weakened the federalism and it would result in its weak implementation.

The NA scheduled to continue general discussions on the budget for the three days beginning today. But, the session for June 6 has been postponed for June 10.
Nepal Communist Party ( NCP)’s leader Ghanashyam Bhusal defended the budget, citing that senior citizens, poor, employees, lawmakers, people and even the opposition were happy at it.

Taking part in the general deliberations on the estimates of annual income and expenditure of the government for the fiscal year 2076-77 BS at the Lower House, he said,” Many people have felt a relief from the budget, remunerations of 800,000 employees have increased, there is a rise in the social security allowance entitled to 1.3 million beneficiaries including single women, aged citizen and those from backward community, and we lawmakers are happy to get Rs 60 million to spend for development efforts in a respective electoral constituency.”

The ruling party is happy and the opposition is too happy, despite some minor reservations, and the budget has become popular, according to him. NCP’s leader Devendra Poudel said the new budget had instilled a ray of hope in regards with the implementation of fundamental rights and towards the strengthening of national economy and building of nation.

“It denotes that nation is moving toward a positive course and appears as a clear guideline for meeting the people’s aspiration for the national goal of ‘Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali’.”

Binod Chaudhary of Nepali Congress said though the vision to make the country self-sufficient deserved appreciation, the budget failed to draw picture and roadmap on how to cope with the situation wherein the country depends on imported flowers and vegetables.

As he said, it is sure that country will face more challenging time in terms of economy in the days to come. The existing problems will remain as it is if the budget allocated for infrastructure development is not implemented rightly.

Rastriya Janata Party leader Sharat Singh Bhandari claimed the budget had overlooked the issues of state and local level while Umashankar Aargariya accused the government of failing to reflect the spirit and aspirations of federalism in the budget. The meeting continues.