According to the PMO, the ministers spent six million rupees over a period of three months of the ongoing fiscal year on “unproductive” domestic trips in violation of the directive issued by PMO. This is the first ever instance that the PMO has made such details public.[break]
“It is the right of people to be informed of the expenses made by those holding public positions. And we made the details public to let the public know where the ministers´ have been spending money,” said PMO Secretary Lila Mani Paudyal.
According to a source at the PMO, the objective behind exposing the details of ministers´ expenses is to discourage them from making such trips at the expense of the state coffers.
A month ago, the PMO had re-circulated a directive to all ministers asking them to furnish evidence of their domestic trips to claim reimbursement of expenses. As per the directive, ministers are required to show evidences containing information as to where, when and why they made such trips.
The PMO had also warned the ministers that it would not reimburse expenses if their trips are found to have been made with personal or political objectives.
But the documents made public by PMO on Sunday reveals that most of the ministers including deputy prime ministers not only failed to furnish details and evidences of their trips but were also found to have made such trips with personal and political objectives.
Deputy Prime minister Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar visited Dhanusa and Rautahat on November 2 but failed to show evidences as required by the directive. Gachchhadar was found to have made trips to inaugurate business exhibition, bridges and so forth.
Gachchhadar has spent about Rs 5, 00,000 over the period for such trips. This amount has not been reimbursed as the bills submitted by him do not meet the criteria set by the PMO. However, the PMO reimbursed Rs 132,284 spent by Gachchhadar for his two trips to Morang district in November.
Deputy Prime Minister Sujata Koirala has also been found to have violated the directive. Documents show she has claimed reimbursement of expenses made for trips to attend functions like inauguration of Shiva temple in Morang on July 24. She also failed to furnish the details of trips made to Ilam, Jhapa and Pokhara in August and October. She has already spent Rs 236,748 for such trips.
Defense Minister Bidhya Devi Bhandari has also been found to have spent Rs 93,654 over the period, especially for trips made for inspection of army barracks in various districts. The PMO has refused to reimburse her expenses.
Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Sharat Singh Bhandari has spent Rs 251,826 for attending tourism festivals held in Rupandehi, Sarlahi, Mahottari, Siraha and Surkhet districts during the same period. He has failed to show evidences of trips made to promote tourism in Mahottari, Nawalparasi, Kaski districts.
The PMO has also refused to reimburse expenses made by Education Minister Sarvendra Nath Sukla for his trips to Kaski and Dang districts. Other ministers whose bills the PMO has refused to reimburse include Supply Minister Rajendra Mahato, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, Irrigation Minister Balkrishana Khand, Minister Minendra Rijal, Peace Minister Rakam Chemjong, Labor Minister Mohammad Aftab Aalam, Land Reform Minister Damber Shrestha, Industry Minister Mahendra Prasad Yadav and Agriculture Minister Mrigendra Kumar Singh, among others.
Similarly, the PMO has also refused to reimburse the expenses made by state ministers for such trips. The state ministers have spent anything between Rs 300,000 to 400,000 for such trips.
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