Budget deadlock ends

The three major political parties agreed today to approve the annual budget despite a long-running political stalemate, averting a government shutdown.

Leaders of the United Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Nepali Congress, and Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist Leninist) today agreed to back the proposed budget, which the government plans to present to parliament later this week.
They agreed to amend Article 96 of the interim constitution to let the caretaker government bring ‘full-fledged budget’. With the addition of fifth clause under the Special provisions of Article 96 (A), the caretaker government will be able to bring budget under the special provision but not in the capacity of normal government. The amendment will help the successive governments to present full-fledged budget unlike the present fiscal year that has not seen the budget for four months hurting the development activities and the economic growth of the country.

The opposition UCPN-Maoists agreed to let the care-taker government table the budget on November 19 as the party is planning its Plenum from November 21 in Palungtar of Gorkha district, some 150-km west of Kathmandu Valley.

The budget that was supposed to be approved by mid-July could not be presented due to political stalemate as the Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal's 'surprise resignation' two weeks ago the budget presentation forcing the finance minister Surendra Pandey to bring a Special Budget of Rs 110.21 billion for the regular expenses under the special provision in the Constitution.

After repeated attempts of parliament failed to chose a new Prime Minister, the care-taker government came under pressure to bring the full-fledged budget of around Rs 336 billion. However the delayed budget will fuel massive corruption at the end of the fiscal year, as the budget could not be spent on development activities.