House of Representatives meeting to hold today

The House of Representatives is meeting today to continue discussions on the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal year 2082 BS. According to the Parliament Secretariat, the meeting is scheduled to begin at 11:00 AM and will focus on the budget allocations for ten different ministries. These include the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Drinking Water, Ministry of Health and Population, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.

Alongside general discussions, several members of parliament will also present proposals to reduce the budget allocations for these ministries. MP Amaresh Kumar Singh is planning to propose reducing the budget of nine ministries—Federal Affairs, Energy, Defense, Health, Education, Foreign Affairs, Labor, Home, and Communications—to just one rupee each. MP Prem Suwal is expected to make a similar proposal for the same nine ministries, along with the Ministry of Drinking Water. MP Aman Lal Modi will also suggest cutting the budget for the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration to one rupee, while MP Prabhu Sah plans to propose the same for the Ministries of Energy, Health, and Drinking Water.

Other MPs are proposing smaller cuts. MP Madhav Sapkota will suggest reducing the Ministry of Energy’s budget by NPR 100. MP Ranendra Barali plans to cut NPR 100 from the Defense Ministry’s budget. Similarly, MP Gyanu Basnet Subedi will propose a NPR 100 reduction in the Health Ministry’s budget. MP Urmila Majhi will recommend cutting the Ministry of Drinking Water’s budget to one rupee, and MP Hit Bahadur Tamang is expected to do the same for the Ministry of Education. These proposals reflect concerns and criticism from some lawmakers regarding the current budget distribution.