KMC employees receive pending salaries

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has finally released pending salaries for its employees, ending a months-long deadlock.

Starting with Mayor Balen Shah, all public representatives and staff of the metropolis have now been paid.

According to KMC spokesperson Naveen Manandhar, the metropolis has deposited salaries totaling Rs 1.13 billion to the accounts of around 2,900 staff members. Employees had not received salaries for the past three to six months.

The delay was linked to a dispute between Mayor Balen and Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain.

The standoff began three months ago when Mayor Balen took action against Guragain for approving a 19-story plan for the Kathmandu Tower, deviating from the approved 12-story design. Following this, all salary payments were suspended.

Despite repeated requests from Mayor Shah for a replacement, the federal government declined to assign a new official, insisting Guragain remain in office.

Tensions escalated when KMC employees and elected representatives physically brought Guragain back to his office on April 3. On April 4, Guragain approved the disbursement of the long-pending funds.

With Saturday and Sunday being public holidays, the payments were reflected in the employees’ accounts only on Monday.