KATHMANDU, Oct 31: The Finance Section at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has informed ministers that it cannot release their salaries from next month {Mid November} if budget for the current fiscal is not endorsed soon.
"The section is running short of money,” an official at the section informed ministers´ aides who had reached there to withdraw their salaries. “We hardly have Rs 1.5 million left which is only enough to conduct regular activities of the OPMCM. We won´t be able to distribute the salaries of ministers and their aides from next month if budget is not endorsed soon," said Under Secretary and chief of the section Umakanta Acharya.
According to the section, more than half of the aides and personal assistants of the caretaker ministers in the current government have already been informed about the budget crunch.
“We have collected the details of salaries to be provided to the cabinet members," said an official at the section adding, “The total salaries of the ministers amount to Rs 6 million," said an official at the section. “Not only will the ministers, but government officials also will not get their salaries if the budget is not passed soon.”
Officials made it clear that they can release salaries from next month only if the annual budget is passed by parliament or if the finance minister makes a policy-level urgent decision. “Otherwise we cannot release the salaries and we have informed cabinet ministers about this,” Acharya told Republica.
The section generally releases the salaries of the prime minister and other ministers on the 26th, 27th or 28th of the Nepali month.
Currently, the prime minister receives Rs 252,000 while the deputy prime minister receives Rs 175,000 as collective monthly salaries. Each minister receives a monthly salary of Rs 132,000, and a state minister and an assistant minister receive Rs 128,000 and Rs 101,000 respectively.
The section releases salaries to ministers and their aides through a single check.
Meanwhile, the section is planning to request the office of Financial Comptroller {OFC) to provide the budget for the distribution of salaries. "If the Office of Financial Comptroller doesn´t provide budget, we cannot neither release the salaries to the ministers nor the officials," he said, adding, "However, even if the OFC provides some budget it won´t be enough to distribute to all the ministers and officials," Acharya clarified.
http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=24764
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