Lawmakers more focused on budget than policy, Bringing small projects to seek funds: FM Wagle

KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has said that lawmakers remain more focused on securing budget allocations for small projects than engaging in broader policy discussions, revealing that Members of Parliament are continuing to approach ministries carrying lists of localized development demands.

Speaking during discussions at the parliamentary Finance Committee on Tuesday, Wagle said MPs have been actively visiting the Ministry of Finance during the budget formulation phase, seeking allocations for projects in their constituencies, including roads, drinking water systems, irrigation facilities, and other small-scale infrastructure schemes.

“Lawmakers’ interest appears to be more concentrated on the budget than on policy debates,” Wagle said. “They come requesting budget allocations, but the Ministry of Finance does not directly insert projects into the budget. Proposals must first come through the concerned ministries, and only then does the Finance Ministry allocate resources.”

The finance minister said many lawmakers continue to bring proposals for small and localized projects instead of focusing on policy-level deliberations related to fiscal priorities and national development strategies.

According to Wagle, under the existing budget formulation process, projects must be proposed by the relevant line ministry before being forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for final approval and funding decisions.

He clarified that road infrastructure proposals must come through the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, drinking water projects through the Ministry of Water Supply, and sector-specific initiatives through their respective ministries, in line with the government’s institutional framework.

Wagle stressed that the federal budget should increasingly focus on larger policy priorities, aligning spending with Nepal’s 16th Periodic Plan, medium-term expenditure framework, governance reform roadmap, and long-term development agenda, rather than dispersing resources across numerous fragmented local projects.

At the same time, he said the government is attempting to address lawmakers’ demands fairly within the limitations of available fiscal resources.

“The effort is to address lawmakers’ concerns in a justifiable manner within the limits of available resources,” he said.

The minister also acknowledged that many local and small-scale projects are difficult to incorporate into the federal budget, as such schemes are increasingly expected to be implemented by provincial and local governments under Nepal’s federal governance structure.

However, he noted that ministries are still reviewing proposals and recommendations submitted by lawmakers to determine which initiatives could reasonably be incorporated into the upcoming federal budget.

The remarks come at a time when the government is preparing the budget for the next fiscal year amid growing pressure from lawmakers and constituencies for development spending, even as fiscal space remains constrained.

Earlier, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) had publicly urged its lawmakers not to lobby ministries for constituency-based budget allocations, arguing that the practice undermines transparent and policy-driven budgeting.