Province govts introduce budgets, here are highlights

KATHMANDU, June 15: Provincial governments in all seven provinces, on Tuesday, tabled the annual budgets for the upcoming fiscal year 2021/22.  As per the Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangement Act-2017, the province governments are required to present the annual budget on Ashar 1 (Mid-June).  Here are the major highlights of the budget presented by the respective province governments across the country.  Province 1  Presented by : Tank Angbuhang, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Budget Size: Rs 32.469 billion  Concurrent Expenditure: Rs 14.161 billion Revenue Mobilization: Rs 4.097 billion  Major programs:  > Residence and physical infrastructure development: Rs 13.21 billion > Chief Minister Rural Roads Project  > Ghinaghat-Birat Chowk Road under Provincial Pride Project  > Health sector: Rs 3.25 billion > Education Sector: Rs 1.18 billion  > Chief Minister Youth Entrepreneurship Program: Rs 100 million > Mero Krishi, Mero Gaurav (My Agriculture, My Pride) Rs 50.72 million  > Energy and Irrigation: Rs 3.15 billion  >  A 10-day tourism leave to civil servants  Province 2 Presented by: Bijaya Kumar Yadav, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning  Size: Rs 33.791 billion  Recurrent Expenditure: Rs 15.63 billion  Capital Expenditure: Rs 18.5 billion  Financing: Rs 58 million  Major programs:  > COVID-19 control, prevention and treatment : Rs 200 million  > Oxygen plant installation and oxygen cylinder procurement  > Irrigation Project: Rs 410 million  > Procurement of 35 dialysis machines: Rs 120 million    Bagmati Province Presented By: Kailash Prasad Dhungel, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning  Size: Rs 57.729 billion  Recurrent expenditure: Rs 26.166 billion  Capital expenditure: Rs 29.704 billion  Financial management: Rs 2 billion  Major programs:  > One school, one nurse : Rs 260 million  > Chief Minister People’s Health Check up Program : Rs 220 million  Gandaki  Presented by: Krishna Chandra Nepali Pokharel, Chief Minister  Size: Rs 30.394 billion  Recurrent expenditure: Rs 13.6 billion  Capital Expenditure: Rs 16.73 billion  Financial Management: Rs 240 million  Major programs:  > Rs 50,000 as compensation to the families of those dying of COVID-19  > Rs 5,000 monthly allowance to those children who lost their parents due to COVID-19  > Multi-sectoral Nutrition Program : Rs 15 million  > District hospitals to be upgraded to 25 to 50-bed  > Rs 10 million to be provided to each local level for province-local level partnership program  > 2 to 5-bed ICU to be set up at every district hospital > Madhyabindu Hospital (Nawalpur), Damauli Hospital (Tanahun), Dhaulagiri Hospital (Baglung), and Bhirkot Hospital (Parbat) to be upgraded to trauma centers > Gorkha-based Aanp Pipal Hospital to be upgraded to 50-bed  Lumbini  Presented by: Baijnath Chaudhary, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning  Size: Rs 40.951 billion  Recurrent expenditure: Rs 24.93 billion  Capital expenditure: Rs 21.17 billion  Major programs > Priority on COVID-19 control , agriculture and employment  > Free treatment of COVID-19 patients  > Lumbini Provincial Hospital to be upgraded to highly specialized equipped hospital : Rs 250 million  > Oxygen plants to be installed at every district-level hospitals  > Coordination with four private medical colleges --- Universal Medical College, Nepalgunj Medical College, Lumbini Medical College and Devdaha Medical College for the treatment of corona patients  > Health workers to be provided 50 percent allowance of their basic salary  > Agriculture technician to be deployed in every wards: Rs 330 million  > One Level, One Smart Agriculture Village Program: Rs 350 million  > Contract Farming Program to be extended to 1,200 hectares  > Mini labs to be established in every districts for soil testing Karnali Province Presented by: Gopal Sharma, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning  Size: Rs 36.456 billion  Recurrent expenditure: Rs 11.49 billion  Capital expenditure: Rs 21.65 billion  Financing: Rs 3.99 billion    Sudur Paschim Province Presented By: Prakash Bahadur Shah, Minister for Economic Affairs and Planning Size: Rs 30.33 billion  Recurrent expenditure: Rs 10.66 billion  Capital expenditure: 17.65 billion  Financial management: Rs 300 million  Major programs:  > DPR development of Naugad, Sunarya Gad and Upper Sunarya Gad Hydro Projects  > Physical Infrastructure Development Ministry: Rs 11.75 billion  > Horticulture development: Rs 100 million  > Agriculture Student Program: Rs 40 million  > Health Sector: Rs 2.42 billion  > Access to COVID-19 vaccines and upgradation of COVID-19 labs  > Programs such as Our Province, Healthy Province, Chief Minister Senior Citizen Health Service > Trauma center to be set up at Seti Provincial Hospital, Epidemiology Hospital at Seti Hospital