HoR continues general discussions on budget

General deliberations on the government’s annual estimate of income and expenditure for the fiscal year 2022-23 continued today in the House of Representatives.

Taking part in the discussions, CPN (UML) vice-chair and former Finance Minister Surendra Prasad Pandey talked about how the budget for the new fiscal year promised to increase agricultural production, but it failed to pay attention to addressing problems in the agricultural sectors.

As he said, farmers are struggling for fertiliser and the agricultural production was not achievable until and unless the smooth supply of fertiliser was ensured. According to him, the imposition of excise duty on biscuits, and cookies produced within the country would promote food import as it would make the domestic products more expensive.

Likewise, the announcement to give a heavy (up to 90 percent) discount on income tax on sanitary pads is capable of discouraging the domestic industries.

He says he sees a challenge in the implementation of the budget as the country is preparing for the next rounds of elections. Pandey took the time to say that it would be hard for the government to discourage the import of petroleum products.

Some lawmakers have said the budget is oriented towards increasing production and it was positive in this aspect, stressing its effective implementation.

CPN (Maoist Center)'s Shakti Bahadur Basnet described the budget as 'balanced' citing that it has put the nation and the people in the centre. He said the budget has been brought focusing on production and creating employment and that it is in favour of Madhes, Karnali, and other marginalized communities.

Basnet also expressed the belief that the budget would also contribute to poverty alleviation through reforms in the agriculture sector. It has prepared a new model of economic development, but the model of public-private partnership model should be further defined, he reiterated.

Nepali Congress' Padma Narayan Chaudhary said the budget has given priority to agriculture considering the present economic crisis. He said the investments in agriculture and tourism will create huge employment opportunities.

Niradevi Jairu of the CPN (Unified Socialist) described the budget as populist. She demanded removing the 'syndicate' in the education and health sectors for its effective implementation. Jairu said the budget has addressed the issues of the Dalit and backward communities.

Pradip Yadav of the Janata Samajbadi Party complained about the 'meager' budgetary allocation for the construction of the Hulaki highway, suggesting a review on this. He alleged that no major projects have been proposed in the Madhes province and the subsidies have also been reduced. He said the Supreme Court's decision to stop the Nijgadh international airport has delivered injustice to the Madhes province as it will hamper the development.

Bimal Prasad Srivastav of the Loktantrik Samajbadi Party has demanded that the government establish a sugar mill and agricultural tools factory in Birgunj. He said he was even ready to donate his land for this purpose.

He argued that opening a sugar mill in Birgunj would provide employment to thousands of people of Bara, Parsa, and Rautahat, among other districts of the Madhesh province. Similarly, the operation of an agricultural tools factory there would benefit the farmers of the country and reduce their dependence on imported tools.