The provincial government of Sudurpaschim Province is struggling to endorse the budget for the fiscal year 2019-20 after a two-thirds majority of the ruling party lawmakers demanded a revision to the annual fiscal plan.

Twenty-five lawmakers of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) submitted a letter to Chief Minister Trilochan Bhatta on Monday, demanding a revision to the budget. There are 39 NCP members in the 53-member provincial assembly of Sudurpaschim Province.

The main opposition Nepali Congress and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal have been pressuring the government to amend the Appropriation Bill stating that the annual budget was discriminatory in nature, and it failed to address people’s concerns.

Minister for Financial Affairs and Planning of Sudurpaschim Province Jhapat Bahadur Bohara had presented a budget of Rs28.16 billion for the next fiscal year on June 16. Amid dissatisfaction among the lawmakers, the Speaker has not called the provincial assembly meeting to deliberate on the budget.

The disgruntled NCP lawmakers claimed that the annual budget is unrealistic. They complained that the budget was being allocated to some disputed projects, and it was prepared ignoring suggestions of the lawmakers.