The Sudurpaschim Province Assembly is preparing to pass the provincial budget on Tuesday in Dhangadhi, despite a planned boycott by the main opposition Nepali Congress, as the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) has agreed to establish a parliamentary investigation committee and bring a supplementary budget by Kartik 15. The agreement follows an escalating dispute within the governing party over budget allocations and controversial projects.
Agreement aims to address lawmakers’ grievances
The NCP’s agreement to form an investigation committee is intended to address grievances raised by its lawmakers over the budget. The dispute had put pressure on the party as the Assembly moved towards a decision on the province’s spending plan. The committee is part of an effort to take up those concerns within the parliamentary process, while the supplementary budget commitment offers a separate route for addressing issues through a later budget proposal.
The agreement does not change the immediate plan to put the budget before the Assembly on Tuesday. Instead, it sets out steps to handle the objections alongside the scheduled budget process. The available information does not specify the committee’s membership, its terms of reference or the precise allocation concerns it will examine. It also does not identify which projects have been challenged, beyond describing some as controversial.
The promise to introduce a supplementary budget by Kartik 15 gives the NCP a stated deadline for bringing that proposal forward. The agreement therefore links the current budget dispute to a future legislative step. Details of the supplementary budget, including its size and which programmes or projects it may cover, have not been provided.
Congress boycott shadows budget passage
The Nepali Congress has decided to boycott the Assembly session, making its absence a central feature of Tuesday’s planned proceedings. The party is the main opposition in the province. Its decision means the budget is set to be considered amid a political dispute, even as the NCP seeks to resolve concerns among its own lawmakers.
The boycott and the disagreement within the ruling party are separate pressures surrounding the budget. Congress has opted not to take part in the session, while NCP lawmakers’ grievances have prompted an agreement on an investigation committee and a supplementary budget. The Assembly is nevertheless preparing to proceed with the budget on Tuesday in Dhangadhi.
The developments put both the passage of the current budget and the promised follow-up measures in focus. For the NCP, forming a committee and committing to a supplementary budget are the agreed responses to concerns over allocations and projects. The Congress boycott, meanwhile, underscores that the planned budget decision will take place without participation from the main opposition party.
Budget dispute remains unresolved in detail
The agreement marks a response to the escalating internal dispute, but the available details do not indicate that all disagreements have been settled. The committee is to address lawmakers’ grievances, and the supplementary budget is due by Kartik 15. How those steps will affect specific allocations or disputed projects will depend on the work that follows; no changes to individual budget items have been announced.
The immediate next event is the Assembly’s planned budget passage on Tuesday. After that, the NCP’s commitment to create the investigation committee and introduce a supplementary budget will be the focus of attention. The timeline sets out an intended process for continuing the discussion, while the Congress boycott leaves the Assembly’s budget proceedings politically contested.
The budget dispute has thus moved into two parallel tracks: consideration of the current spending plan and the party’s promised review of grievances. The Assembly is preparing to proceed in Dhangadhi, while the NCP has committed to a committee and a supplementary budget by Kartik 15. The outcome of the Tuesday session and the details of any later budget changes remain to be seen.
