SPECIAL INTERIM BUDGET ANNOUNCED Kathmandu, 21 Nov.:: Amidst outcry from the opposition, the caretaker government led by Baburam Bhattarai brought a special budget of Rs 351.93 billion as interim public expenditure arrangement, today [Tuesday], The Himalayan Times reports.. “The government allocated Rs 51.29 billion for votable expenses — that is expenses for head of state, Vice President and other heads of constitutional bodies and judges — and Rs 300.64 billion non-votable expenses making up for a total of Rs 351.93 billion,” said Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun. However, the government is not happy with the second interim public expenditure arrangement as it wanted a full-fledged budget,” he said, blaming the opposition for failure to forge political consensus for a full budget. “Due to elusive political consensus, the government was forced to bring a special budget again,” he added. Blaming parties opposed to the monopoly budget of the caretaker government, he said the government had brought the budget to rescue the country from financial catastrophe. Though the economy is not sailing smoothly, the government has been able to record encouraging revenue mobilisation, the finance minister said, adding that the government had mobilised Rs 57.42 billion revenue by end of the first quarter of the current fiscal. “Revenue mobilisation has registered 31 per cent increment compared to the same period last fiscal.” Though, there has been no change in revenue policy, the current trend, if it continues, will mobilise over Rs 315 billion in the current fiscal year. The continuation of the first special budget, Pun brought on July 15, the current interim public expenditure arrangement will allocate expenses for election, army integration, social security, salary for civil servants and security forces, matching fund for donor funded projects and ongoing projects of national pride. The budget — which is two-third of last fiscal’s actual spending — has allocated Rs 10 billion — Rs 4 billion from direct budget and Rs 6 billion from Peace Fund — for election, Rs 3 billion for reconstruction and widening of roads in Kathmandu and Rs 2.5 billion for fertiliser subsidy. Though, President Ram Baran Yadav approved the budget with pre-condition, Pun said there were no strings attached to the budget. However, CPN-UML Chairman Jhala Nath Khanal and Nepali Congress Vice President Ramchandra Poudel disowned the budget as it had been brought without consulting them and mocking consensus politics. Likewise, commenting on the budget, secretary of CPN-Maoist Dev Gurung said his party was against the President’s move. He claimed that the unconstitutional move had prolonged the life of Bhattarai’s government. “The President has no authority to endorse the budget brought without consensus,” Gurung said, adding that Bhattarai’s government would lose legal grounds on November 22, but approval of the budget would prop up the government. For the sake of state expenses: President’s office The President’s office has quoted Article 96 (A), according to which the government can bring one-third amount of the total budget spent in the last fiscal year, to authenticate the budget ordinance. A press statement issued by the President’s spokesperson Hari Shrestha said, “The budget ordinance has been authenticated as the situation of Article 96 (A) still exists to make regular expenses of the state and give continuity to development works of fiscal year 12/13.” It said the ordinance was authenticated to provision the right to withdraw money from reserve fund of the state and spend it. nnnn