Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Urban Development Prakashman Singh is facing allegations of gross misuse of power after allocating a significant portion of his ministry’s budget for the next fiscal year (2025/26) to the construction of memorial buildings in the names of prominent political figures, including his late father Ganeshman Singh.

The budget for the Ministry of Urban Development has reportedly been widely distributed for projects such as memorial buildings, parks, and roads named after Nepali Congress leaders Ganeshman Singh, BP Koirala, and Sushil Koirala. Minister Singh, who also chairs the Ganeshman Singh Foundation, is said to have secured millions of rupees for these initiatives under the ministry’s annual development program.

In addition, the budget has been allocated for the construction of a building for the Nepal Tarun Dal, the youth wing of the Nepali Congress. The organization publicly thanked Minister Singh and party president Sher Bahadur Deuba for the allocation, with Tarun Dal President Bidwan Gurung issuing a statement of appreciation.

The Urban Development Ministry, which initially had a budget ceiling of Rs 91 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, expanded its budget by Rs 27 billion, bringing the total to Rs 118 billion. Of that, over Rs 350 million has reportedly been allocated for the construction of party offices. Singh earmarked Rs 30 million each for Ganeshman Singh memorial buildings in Kathmandu-13 and Pokhara. The structure in Pokhara is being labeled the “Ganeshman Singh Provincial Building” and is set to serve as the Nepali Congress’s Gandaki Province office.

Additional allocations under this initiative include Rs 10 million in Chaukhune, Surkhet; Rs 4 million in Indrawati-3, Sindhupalchok; Rs 7 million in Chautara Sangachokgadhi, Sindhupalchok; and Rs 4 million in Jayaprithvi Municipality, Bajhang – all designated for Ganeshman Singh memorial projects.

Singh has also earmarked substantial amounts in the name of BP Koirala: Rs 30 million for Bhanu Municipality, Tanahun, and Rs 7 million each for districts including Janakpur, Baglung, Nawalparasi, Morang, Pyuthan, and Lamjung. An additional Rs 4 million and Rs 5 million have been allocated for Humla and Kalikot, respectively. Infrastructure funding of Rs 2.5 million each has also been assigned to BP memorial complexes in Arghakhanchi and Achham.

The budget also includes Rs 30 million for the Sushil Koirala Foundation and over Rs 19.9 million for a Sushil Koirala memorial building in Biratnagar, Morang. Another Rs 16 million was allocated for a Mahendra Narayan memorial building in Dhanusha.

Singh has allocated Rs 2.5 million for road construction under the name Ganeshman Marg – from Tulsi Chowk to Kirat Chowk even in Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s home district of Jhapa.

Former Finance Minister Barshaman Pun criticized the move, calling the budget increase beyond the ceiling “unnatural” and raising concerns about potential corruption. “What is the justification for increasing the ceiling by Rs 27 billion?” he said. “It raises suspicions that personal projects have been inserted for corrupt purposes.”

Pun also highlighted inconsistencies in the government's statements, noting that although Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel claimed no budget was allocated under Rs 30 million, the Red Book distributed to lawmakers included allocations as low as Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000.

“The Urban Development Minister himself has informally acknowledged the existence of projects worth up to Rs 2.5 million,” said Pun, adding that the government says one thing but does another. He warned that the matter would be raised in Parliament.

In response to the criticism, Minister Singh claimed that the allocations were made according to due process and denied that the budget was directed to party projects. “The budget has been arranged for the construction of memorial buildings, not for any political party,” he said, speaking to journalists outside Parliament on Monday. “All documentation is in place and procedures were followed. There is no misuse of funds.”

However, dissatisfaction is also brewing within the ruling coalition. CPN-UML leader and former minister Mahesh Basnet criticized the allocation of Rs 30 million to the Tarun Dal office, saying it undermines governance standards and raises ethical questions for the government. “Allocating taxpayers' money for partisan gains like this erodes the moral foundation of the government,” Basnet wrote on Facebook. “It raises serious concerns about the integrity of the party system and democratic governance.”