Gandaki- The Gandaki Province Government on Tuesday released a budget of Rs 30.3 billion for the new fiscal year 2021/21.Chief Minister for the Gandaki Province Government Krishna Chandra Pokharel, who also holds the portfolio of Minister for Finance and Planning, presented the budget in the Gandaki Province Assembly meeting allocating Rs 13.64 billion for current expenditure and Rs 13.73 billion for capital expenditure. Likewise, Rs 240 million has been allocated for fiscal management.
Of the budget, Rs 7.42 billion would be received from the Federal Government in financial equalization grant. Likewise, Rs 4.18 billion would be received in conditional grant, Rs 870 million in supplementary grant, Rs 540 million in special grant, Rs 7.62 billion from revenue distribution and Rs 300 million in royalty from the Federal Government.
According to Chief Minister Pokharel, Rs 4.97 billion would be covered from the internal resources and Rs 2.1 billion, which is not being spent in the current fiscal year, is also included in the budget.Pokharel said that Rs 1 billion would be received from the domestic borrowing (internal debt) and Rs 1 billion from the Federal Government.
He said that unproductive and non-essential costs have been cut in order to revitalize the COVID-19 hit economy adding that local means and resources would be mobilised in service and production sectors to for employment generation.
Chief Minister Pokharel announced that the budget is focused on safeguarding the lives of citizens of the province by containing COVID-19 and generate employment opportunities to the citizens rendered jobless at home and abroad due to the pandemic.
The Gandaki Province Government has allocated Rs 10 million each to all the local levels to implement Province Government and Local Level Partnership Programme.ikewise, the Province Government has allocated budget to ensure vaccine against COVID-19 to all the citizens.All district hospitals of the province would be upgraded from 25 to 50 beds and Dhaulagiri Hospital in Baglung would be upgraded into a 200-bed general hospital.
Similarly, all the district hospitals will have two to five intensive care unit (ICU) beds and budget for this has been allocated.Madhya Bindu Hospital of Nawalpur, Damauli Hospital of Tanahun, Dhaulagiri Hospital and Bhirkot City Hospital of Syangja in the major country’s highways would be upgraded as the trauma centres and budget has been allocated accordingly, he said.Anppipal Hospital of Gorkha would be made of 50 beds and construction of a teaching hospital with 500 beds in Gandaki University would be initiated by preparing a detailed project report (DPR).
In the hospital under the province government, citizens above 65 years would be provided with free medical care.
Similarly, contribution-based social security programmes would be implemented with the partnership of the Federal Government and Rs 50 million has been allocated for the establishment of Social Security Fund.Likewise, the children who lost their parents due to COVID-19 would be provided with Rs 5,000 in cash on a monthly basis while Rs 50,000 would be provided to the family for the casualty caused due to COVID1-9.
The Chief Minister said that budget has been allocated for the establishment of a cultural museum of Kumal ethnic community.The budget has also announced programmes for tourism related activities, good governance, public service delivery, youth entrepreneurship, employment generation, infrastructure development in the province.
