With less than a week remaining in the current fiscal year, authorities have only used 47.69 percent of their development budget. This year, just Rs 166.22 billion of the Rs 352.35 billion earmarked for capital expenditure was spent. This is just around half of the overall budget. Although the financial system is shut down on Asar 25 (July 9), money for roads, irrigation, hydropower, and infrastructure is sitting idle. Year after year, the tale remains the same. The capital budget accounts for only 18% of the entire national budget; however, it has been mismanaged. The current scenario is worse than the previous year, when a minimum of 49.63 percent had already been spent by this point in the fiscal year. However, recurring spending has already surpassed 82 percent. Salaries, allowances, and day-to-day office expenses are quickly released, but development work is slowed due to budget release delays. Experts accuse the administration, its line ministries, and agencies of moving too slowly. Contractors also report nonpayment and project delays. Even for important strategic road network improvements, money is not always given on schedule.
We are all aware of this awful condition since it is nothing new: each fiscal year begins slowly and ends with a frenzied rush to spend what remains unspent. This is due to insufficient planning, project readiness issues, delayed procurement, and a reluctance to make early choices during the year. Bureaucrats typically wait until the fourth quarter to act, fearing that they will be in trouble. Ministries develop plans late in order to reveal the project blueprint. Projects in our country begin late, and progress is disrupted by monsoon-induced calamities. As a result, it is unreasonable to expect the funding to be used properly for development purposes. When the country became a federal state, local administrations were given the authority to act quickly. However, our local governments continue to lack both competence and political will. They also fail to respond quickly because of the center's delayed transmission of the funds to them. Meanwhile, government offices prefer to delay payments out of fear of audits and anti-corruption bodies. All of this leads to a last-minute scramble to complete work and fulfill payments. The notorious concept of 'Asare Bikash,' in which organizations rush to spend budget on development projects during the last month of the fiscal year, provides room for corruption in the form of inflated bills, poor work, and dubious dealings among authorities, contractors, and suppliers.
Govt speeds up ‘Asare Bikas’ to book increased spending in deve...
So, what should be done to remedy such an undesirable situation? First, the government must provide budgets for initiatives that are fully operational. Budgets must be released quarterly, but only for projects with solid timetables. Mid-year evaluations are required, and agencies must be held accountable if they fail to spend within a reasonable timetable. Local levels must be provided budgets on schedule, better trained staff, and speedier procurement help. Most importantly, ministries must be held accountable for any expenditure delays. The spending must be done with the goal of achieving quick and favorable outcomes. The eleventh-hour budget spending must be handled seriously. Otherwise, each Asar (mid-June to July) will finish with the same excuses and failures that we have witnessed thus far.
