KATHMANDU: Ward chairs of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City have rejected the recent appointments made by Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen) regarding changes in the leadership of various municipal committees.
In a joint letter submitted to the Mayor on Sunday, ward chairs Dal Bahadur Karki, Birendra Prajapati, and Binod Rajbhandari stated that they would not assume the newly assigned responsibilities without formal approval from the municipal executive.
“We have been informed about the reassignment of coordinators for thematic committees under Rule 15(1) of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City Executive (Performance) Regulations, 2074. However, since the appointments have not been approved by the executive meeting, we request not to be considered as committee coordinators under these circumstances,” the letter reads.
On Jestha 1, Mayor Balen reshuffled the coordinators of the Information Technology, Good Governance, Heritage and Tourism, and Legislation Committees under the same rule.
Before the reshuffle, the committees were headed by Nabin Manandhar of Ward 17, Khyamraj Tiwari of Ward 26, Ashaman Sangat of Ward 8, and Macharaja Maharjan of Ward 23 respectively.
Under the new appointments, the roles were reassigned to Birendra Prajapati of Ward 5, Dal Bahadur Karki of Ward 30, Binod Kumar Rajbhandari of Ward 24, and Rojina Shrestha of Ward 16. Shrestha, who was recently elected in a by-election as a Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) representative, has yet to publicly comment on the new assignment.
Previously, Nabin Manandhar had also served as the city’s spokesperson since Shrawan 2, 2079 BS.
While he has now been removed from the Information Technology Committee, Mayor Balen’s secretariat confirmed that Manandhar will continue in his role as spokesperson.
Manandhar had played a key role on Chaitra 21 in facilitating the re-entry of Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain into the metropolitan office at Kamaladi, alongside ward chairs and staff, despite the presence of city police.
Following that event, Manandhar expressed growing dissatisfaction with Balen’s leadership, saying he could no longer carry the burden he had shouldered for three years.
The three newly appointed ward chairs now join Manandhar in opposing the Mayor’s unilateral decisions. They have demanded that an executive meeting be convened to legitimize any such appointments.
“We were issued letters of appointment as committee coordinators. However, by law, these appointments must be approved by the executive meeting. The last such meeting was held on Poush 10, 2081 BS,” Prajapati stated. “The Mayor has the authority to propose changes, but they only take effect after being ratified by the executive. Therefore, we’ve called for an executive meeting.”
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