Delivery of smart passport to delay due to lack of budget

Delivery of the much-awaited Mechine Readable Passport (MRP) might be delayed due to lack of budget.
The first lot of the MRP is expected to arrive on November 7, according to a finance ministry source. "On the day of arrival Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) needs to pay its due," the source said. The ministry will ask the central bank to make the payment for MRP, the source said, adding, "Thus the budget should be brought by November 1 for take the delivery of MRP otherwise it will be delayed as the central bank could not pay as the central bank had opened the Letter of Credit(L/C) for the MRP on zero margin on the request of government."
After missing the two deadlines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) had signed an agreement with a French company Oberthur Technologies in July to supply MRP according to the country's commitment with the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO).
The Montreal-based UN body-ICAO -- after the government's request
-- has extended the MRP deadline till January 1, 2011, after th date the MoFA cannot distribute the present passport.
"The government has only Rs 10 billion left for the regular administrative expenses from a total of Rs 49.71 billion set aside for administrative expenses in the Special Budget," reads a letter sent to the Constituent Assembly (CA) chair Subash Chandra Nemwang today by the Finance Ministry.
"The amount will not be sufficient for even the salary of the month of Kartik (that ends on November 16) for all the government staffers," according to the finance ministry.
The finance ministry had under the special provision brought the Special Budget -- due to resignation of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal in June -- of Rs 110.21 billion for the regular expenses for the one third of the fiscal year.
The situation could be more serious as the government could also not supply the excise duty-paid sticker that is a must for major revenue generating items.
On one hand growth rate of revenue has dropped to 9.4 per cent by the end of the month of Ashwin (mid-October) against the increase of 53.7 per cent in the same period last fiscal year and on the other, the shortage of excise duty-paid sticker will hit the government coffer hard.
"The CA chair today presented the letter from finance ministry to the Business Advisory Committee of the Legislature Parliament but it could not be discussed," according to UCPN-Maoists vice-chairman and CA member Narayan Kaji Shrestha. The Committee has to approve the date for the announcement of the budget.
Meanwhile, the caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal also conferred with CA chair Nemwang today and asked him to create a favourable environment for the government to present budget in the Legislature Parliament.
During the meeting with Nemwang, Nepal mentioned the economic crisis the country could face, if the full-fledged budget is not presented within November 1.
However, CA chair Nemwang suggested him to take the main opposition UCPN-Maoists into confidence and reach political consensus before presenting the budget.
But the UCPN-Maoists has been maintaining that the caretaker government has no moral and constitutional right to bring full-fledged budget.
Yesterday, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey has also met CA chair to request him for the date to present budget in the Legislature Parliament.