Despite budget allocations for the current fiscal year (2024/25), various ministries have been unable to effectively utilize their capital budgets.
According to the Ministry of Finance, capital expenditure remains notably low, particularly among key development ministries such as Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development, as well as the Ministry of Finance itself.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, which received a capital budget of Rs 143.05 billion, has only spent Rs 47.47 billion as of March 24. Similarly, the Urban Development Ministry spent only Rs 11.88 billion out of its allocated Rs 63.17 billion.
The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies has been the least effective, utilizing only Rs 78.5 million from its Rs 2.1 billion budget. Likewise, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation spent Rs 11.25 billion out of Rs 36.18 billion, while the Agriculture and Livestock Development Ministry also reported poor budget utilization.
As of March 24, total capital expenditure across ministries stood at Rs 87.33 billion, compared to an allocated budget of Rs 323.56 billion. The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers spent only Rs 130 million from its Rs 558.9 million allocation, while the Ministry of Finance utilized Rs 1.6 billion of its Rs 13.79 billion budget.
Other ministries, including Water Supply, Home, Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Foreign Affairs, Forests and Environment, Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation, Women’s Affairs, Youth and Sports, Defense, Education, Science and Technology, Communication and Information Technology, Federal Affairs, Health and Population, and Labor, Employment, and Social Security, also reported unsatisfactory capital budget spending.
Amid growing concerns over low budget utilization, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel held discussions with senior officials from all ministries, urging them to accelerate capital expenditure.
Finance Secretary Ghanshyam Upadhyaya advised ministries to propose budget plans for the next fiscal year based on their spending capacity. Revenue Secretary Dinesh Kumar Ghimire emphasized the need to address the persistent gap between budget allocation and actual spending.
The Ministry of Finance has instructed ministries to surrender unspent budgets if they cannot be utilized within the current fiscal year. However, ministry officials claim that budget-related programs are in the implementation phase and expect capital expenditure to exceed last year’s figures by the end of the fiscal year.
