HoR passes proposal to consider Appropriation Bill

KATHMANDU: The proposal to consider the Appropriation Bill, 2025 was unanimously approved on Monday, despite the protest of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in the House of Representatives

RSP lawmakers shouted slogans and staged a protest in the well of the parliament throughout the day, demanding the formation of a parliamentary committee to investigate the recent visit visa controversy. However, the House continued its proceedings and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel tabled the motion for deliberation on the bill.

Earlier, lawmakers engaged in a general discussion on the Appropriation Bill. Participating in the debate. CPN-UML lawmaker Damodar Poudel said the government had failed to fulfil the development promises made to voters during the election campaign.

Metmani Chaudhary of the CPN (Unified Socialist) said the budget document has failed to clarify how allocations to specific sectors would contribute to GDP growth, economic expansion or high economic growth rates.

Similarly, Hit Raj Pandey of the CPN (Maoist Center) criticized the government for failing to transfer finances following the principles of federalism. He argued that conditional grants should be gradually reduced while increasing fiscal equalisation grants.

Another Maoist Center lawmaker, Ram Kumar Rai, said the budget has failed to prioritize employment-generating sectors such as industry and agriculture. Tshering Damdul Lama of the same party accused the government of discriminating against Karnali Province and Humla district in development allocations.

Kantika Sejuwal of the Nepali Congress said local governments should be allowed to function independently once the federal government transfers the budget.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire informed the House that discussions on ministry-wise budget allocations would be held on June 19–21, followed by a question-and-answer session with the Prime Minister on June 20.