Local levels of Dang have spent the nominal budget meant for the construction of roads and toilets for a target-group by purchasing motorcycles and scooters citing coronavirus pandemic.

Gopal Sharma Bhattarai: Centre for Investigative Journalism-Nepal

Of the total Rs 525,000 budget allocated by the Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City-11 meant for the target group in the fiscal year 2019/20, it spent Rs 125,000 to purchase a scooter for the official purpose. The budget meant for capacity development, income generation and uplift of the target group in the wards has been misused by purchasing a scooter by taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.

“What could be more ridiculous than spending the budget allotted for the vulnerable group on a luxury?” comments Laxman Pokharel, former Accounts Chief at the Nepal Sanskrit University. 

However, Ward Chairman Chitra Bahadur Wali says the scooter was purchased with some of its budgets since they could not spend it on the target group due to the pandemic. 

A culvert constructed at Khausapur river in Tulsipur Sub-metropolitan ward-14.

The ward had purchased a motorcycle a year ago. The ward secretary rides the motorcycle while the scooter is being used by the assistant secretary. Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City-8 has also followed suit. This ward has purchased a motorcycle with the budget allocated for the target group. 

The municipality had allocated Rs 50,000 for Chaudhary and the indigenous nationalities to enhance their vocational training in the fiscal year 2019/20. Ward Chairman Bed Bahadur KC admits that the motorcycle was purchased with the budget allocated by the municipal assembly. 

“The budget had been allotted to train Chaudhary and indigenous nationalities on cutting and sewing clothes. The budget was used on the procurement of the motorcycle after the vocational training program could not be launched due to the pandemic.”

The ward secretary uses the motorcycle. Chairman KC claims the motorcycle was purchased amid the pandemic to comfortably execute the official jobs. Earlier, a motorcycle had been procured for KC, chairman of ward no. 11. Preparations are underway to buy an additional motorcycle for the ward engineer, says ward secretary Resham Wali. 

The practice of spending the budget meant for the target group on other topics is on an increasing trend in Tulsipur. The Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City spent Rs 1,500,000 which had been allocated for the target group in the fiscal year 2019/20 on infrastructure development. It was meant for the social and economic development of Dalit and indigenous nationalities. The municipal assembly held on February 28, 2020, had allocated the budget for the target group. 

But this allotted budget was used for the construction of a culvert on a rivulet in Khaisapur, said information officer of sub-metropolitan city Baburam Neupane. 

According to Neupane, Rs 600,000 has been spent on the construction of the culvert, Rs 410,000 on a toilet facility while Rs 300,000 has been donated to Nepal Red Cross Society, Tulsipur for the construction of a building. 

Deputy Mayor of Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City Maya Sharma admitted to having spent the budget allocated for the target group on some other topics. She says, “The allocated budget has been spent on infrastructure development and the prevention and control of the coronavirus pandemic.” 

She argues that when the budget allotted for the target group is spent on infrastructure, it will benefit both the target group as well as the other communities. 

The budget for the target group in Tulsipur had been allocated one month before the coronavirus pandemic gained a foothold in Tulsipur. These cases of spending the budget meant for the target group on other topics in Tulsipur (are only the tip of the iceberg) do not end here. 

The sub metropolis had allocated Rs 2.5 million for the construction of Dangisharan Janajati Sangrahalaya (Dangisharan Nationalities Museum) and Kranti Sangrahalaya (Revolution Museum) in the fiscal year 2019/20. 

This budget had also been spent on the construction of a culvert in ward no. 10 instead of constructing the museum. According to Kumar Lamichhane, Chairman of ward no. 10, Rs 748,000 was spent for the construction of a bridge and Rs 600,000 for the construction of a motorway wall in Balle Kimugaira of ward no. 3. 

Mayor of Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City Ghanashyam Pandey says the budget allocated for the target group has been spent on the infrastructure development. He said, “The budget ceiling for the target group budget has not been fixed. The budget had been allocated for the economic and social empowerment of the target group.  

But this budget was spent on other topics due to the coronavirus pandemic. Out of Rs 2.5 million budget allotted for the target group, Rs 570,000 was spent for fixing water outlet pipe in the Siddhartha Tol of ward no. 12, a total of Rs 216,000 for the construction of Beluwa Mauja irrigation canal in ward no. 9 and Rs 150,000 for fencing Kalika Malika Temple in ward no. 19, he said.

Surya Bahadur Dangi, chairman of ward no. 12, says the budget allocated for the target group has been spent on different topics. “The target group budget was spent on other topics when the sub metropolis could not spend it until the second week of March 2020.” 

In the last fiscal year, Tulsipur sub metropolis spent Rs 4 million for the infrastructure development apart from the target group budget allocated through the wards, irking the representatives of the target group. “Misusing the budget meant for the target group is an injustice to us,” says Kashiram Nepali, a local of Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City.

The members including Dalits of the target group were hopeful that the budget of Rs 200,000 allocated by ward no. 12 would launch skill-based training and create self-employment in the village. 

Even though the budget allotted by the sub metropolis was scanty, the minority group and Dalit community were happy with it. 

“The plan had it that the vocational training would be provided to empower the women and youths economically. We have been disappointed after the budget meant for us was spent on other topics,” adds Kashiram. Rs 200,000 meant for the target group have been spent on road construction.

A meeting of the ward committee on May 22, 2020, decided to allocate the budget of the fiscal 2019/20 and sent it to the sub metropolis for endorsement. The municipal assembly of Tulsipur Sub Metropolis on June 8, 2020, had endorsed it paving the way for the road construction. 

According to the details provided by concerned local units, a total budget of Rs 11,300,000 ( Rs 8,000,000 by Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City, Rs 2,000,000 by Ghorahi Sub Metropolitan City, and Rs 1,300,000 by Babai rural municipality) allocated for the target group in Dang district has been spent on other topics in the last fiscal year. Social Activist Nirmal Nepali accused the local units of misusing the budget meant for the upliftment of the target group by procuring vehicles building infrastructure on the pretext of coronavirus pandemic. 

“The target group has also been hit by the pandemic. It’s an abuse of authority to whimsically spend the target group budget on the pretext of the pandemic,” says Nepali.  

A municipal assembly of Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City has allocated Rs 400,000 for the upliftment of senior citizens, Dalits, women, children, youths and indigenous nationalities in ward no. 13. 

The irony is that this budget was also spent on somewhere else, disappointing the senior citizens. “It is quite disappointing to know that the budget meant for the elderly has been spent on other topics,” complained Khumananda Adhikari, the chairman of Senior Citizens Society, Tulsipur. This budget was supposed to be spent on the honor of the elderly, according to the plan. But it was spent somewhere else.

Similarly, Babai rural municipality also spent Rs 1,300,000 meant for the target group for disaster management. 

Rural municipality chairman Sabitra Biswokarma admitted to have spent the target group budget for disaster management.

She says, “We could not stop the money despite efforts. We could not spend it on time in the target group. Later, we used it for disaster management as per the direction from the higher authority.”

Administrative Officer of Babai rural municipality, Bhishma Kumar Malla said the money was spent on the disaster management since we could not launch programs for the target group due to the pandemic. 

Interestingly, even though the money was used on different topics in the middle of the previous fiscal year, the payment clearance was done on allotted topics. The budget has been issued on the same topics as has been stated in the red book by Tulsipur Sub Metropolitan City, says Accounts Officer Basudev Adhikari. 

Adhikari says, “We have no idea that the money was spent on other topics. That is why we are doing payment as per the allocation of the budget in the red book.”

The budget was spent on infrastructure including road and toilet construction and vehicles but the record shows that the money has been spent on the target group. “It is fraudulent to spend money somewhere else while the record shows that the expenditure has been done on the target group,” says former Accounts Chief of Nepal Sanskrit University Laxman Pokharel. 

Local administration expert and the scholar of public administration Nahakul KC says the local unit cannot spend the budget on the topics other than the ones allotted. “The target group is the most vulnerable members of our society. To spend the budget allocated for the target group on infrastructure development, procurement of vehicles under any pretext is not only illegal but also the abuse of authority,” he says.