The Sudur Paschim Provincial Government has presented the budget for the fiscal year 2021/22 in the Provincial Assembly on June 15, prioritizing health, infrastructure construction, human rights promotion, and agriculture.
Minister for Economic Affairs and Physical Planning, Prakash Bahadur Shah, said that to implement the policies and programs the budget of NRs. 30.33 billion has been presented in the provincial assembly on June 15.
The Sudur Paschim Provincial Government has allocated the necessary funds in the budget to make the media sector dignified and professional, to promote good governance, stability and development, to protect and promote human rights, to conduct income-generating programs to reduce the poverty of the most vulnerable Badi community, and to establish senior citizen provincial treatment relief fund.
Funds have been apportioned with the federal government’s coordination for easy supply of vaccine against COVID-19 to the citizens, increasing access to vaccine for all the citizens, strengthening the condition of hospitals and public health laboratories and for the molecular setup.
The provincial government has given high priority to the immediate expansion of immunization against COVID-19 and other diseases and has continued the free health insurance program for women health workers.
To make the Chief Minister’s Unified Agriculture and Livestock Development Program effective and to promote paddy production with the slogan ‘Build the Model Village Yourself’, the program of providing paddy at the concessional price will be continued at five local levels in Kailali.
Within the program of establishing seed resource centre at every local level with the slogan ‘Produce the seeds, you need’, seed production, processing and storage centre will be set up in 15 places through private and cooperative organizations. The budget has also been divided for the agriculture student program with farmers and agricultural incubation system. Funds have also been allocated in the budget to make the agricultural entrepreneurship development program effective.
To release the Province from darkness, alternative solar energy will be used. Minister for Economic Affairs and Physical Planning, Prakash Bahadur Shah, said that funds have been allocated to conduct higher education scholarships for the target groups and technical diploma scholarship programs for underprivileged students.
Out of the total allocated budget, 10.66 billion (35.1%) has been allocated for current expenditure, 17.65 billion (58.2%) for capital expenditure and 1.72 billion (1%) for intergovernmental financial transfer.