KATHMANDU: CPN (Maoist Centre) Deputy General Secretary and former Finance Minister Barshaman Pun has strongly criticized the recently announced federal budget for fiscal year 2025/26, stating that it fails to address the needs of the lower class.
Speaking at an event titled “Federalism Perspective on FY 2025/26 Budget” held in Kathmandu on Monday, Pun said the budget neglects the poor, laborers, farmers, and victims of cooperative fraud.
He pointed out that the country’s sluggish economy is partly due to the ongoing crisis in the cooperative and microfinance sectors, yet the Finance Minister and the government have paid little attention to this issue.
“The financial instability in the microfinance and cooperative sectors is one of the main reasons behind the stagnant economy,” Pun said, “but the Finance Minister seems oblivious to it.”
Pun also expressed suspicion over the unusually high budget allocation to the Ministry of Urban Development. Despite the National Planning Commission capping the budget ceiling for the ministry at Rs. 91 billion, it has received Rs. 118 billion in the new budget—an increase of Rs. 27 billion.
He questioned the rationale behind this allocation, implying the possibility of corruption through inflated and unnecessary projects. “Why was Rs. 26 billion added beyond the original ceiling for a ministry with a Rs. 72 billion ceiling? Are pockets being filled through shady projects?” Pun remarked.
Pun also criticized the inclusion of small-scale projects—ranging from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 500,000—under the Urban Ministry, despite the Finance Minister publicly claiming no allocation under Rs. 30 million had been made.
He cited evidence from the digital copy of the Red Book (official budget document) and added that the Urban Development Minister himself informally admitted to programs worth up to Rs. 2.5 million.
“This is yet another case of the government saying one thing and doing another,” Pun said.
On the issue of federalism, Pun claimed that the federal government has been gradually taking back powers previously devolved to provincial and local governments, especially in key sectors like health, education, energy, and forestry.
“While we are all committed to federalism in principle, the federal government is reversing devolution in practice,” he said. He stressed that such a trend contradicts the spirit of the Constitution and called for an end to this regressive approach.
Pun said federalism was a collective design and must be implemented with mutual trust between the federal, provincial, and local levels.
“We designed federalism ourselves, yet today there is mistrust between the three levels of government. That must end,” he said.
He further stated that local governments have shown effectiveness in development work, especially in selecting and implementing infrastructure projects with direct community involvement.
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