Five Metropolises, Except Kathmandu, Unveil Budget

Kathmandu, June 25: In line with the constitutional provisions, the federal government has been presenting the budget on the 15th of Nepali month Jestha every year.

Similarly, the provincial governments are required to present the budget on Asar 1, and the local governments on Asar 10.

The Local Government Operations Act and the Intergovernmental Financial Management Act require the budget for the upcoming fiscal year to be presented by Asar 10 of each year.

According to the same provision, most local governments have presented their annual budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Tuesday. Some had presented their budget even before the scheduled date. In some local bodies, the budget has been halted due to internal disputes, while in others technical reasons have been cited for not bringing the budget in the stipulated deadline.

Among the total six metropolitan cities in the country, the budget of Kathmandu Metropolitan City has not been presented till date. While the Biratnagar, Birgunj, Lalitpur, Bharatpur, and Pokhara metropolises have already presented their budgets, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, which is the federal capital, was unable to present it within the deadline due to internal disputes.

There has been public interest in the budget of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, which handles a larger budget than some ministries of the federal government.

KMC's municipal assembly has not been able to convene for a long time. There is no official statement from the KMC regarding the municipal assembly not being able to meet and the budget not being presented.

It is surmised that there is some misunderstanding between the chief administrative officer sent to KMC by the federal government and the Mayor Balendra Sah.

It is said there has been no discussion among the concerned officials of KMC regarding the policies, programmes, and budget of the metropolitan city. Similarly, in some other local levels of the country, policies and programmes have not been presented.