KATHMANDU: The budget estimation and resource allocation committee meeting, expected to be held on Wednesday morning at the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), remains uncertain.
According to KMC spokesperson Nabin Manandhar, committee members have yet to receive any official notice regarding the meeting. “We have not received any official information about the meeting,” Manandhar told Khabarhub.
The uncertainty appears to stem from Mayor Balen Shah’s attempt to bypass Committee Member-Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guraagain, who has reportedly not been included in the budget preparation process.
Shah had reportedly directed the administration to prepare the proposal and intended to hold the meeting without involving Guraagain.
As per the law, local governments must present their budget by Asar 10 and have it passed by the end of the fiscal year.
However, the delay in convening the budget committee meeting—chaired by Mayor Shah—has left the city’s upcoming budget in limbo. Manandhar confirmed that Wednesday’s meeting had not taken place as of late afternoon.
Neither the executive body nor the municipal assembly has convened in recent months. The lack of a budget committee meeting has cast uncertainty over the upcoming fiscal year’s budget.
Mayor Shah’s move to sideline the committee’s member-secretary has reportedly drawn objections from other elected officials.
Although the mayor had called for the meeting at 11 AM in his office, it had still not commenced by 4 PM. Committee rules require the presence of the member-secretary for the meeting to proceed.
The committee also includes Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol and executive members Nabin Manandhar, Nabaraj Parajuli, Maiya Laxmi Maharjan, and Anita Karki Doli.
According to Section 17(1) of the Local Government Operation Act 2017, the executive must meet at least once a month.
However, KMC’s executive committee has not met for the past seven months. Likewise, the municipal assembly—mandated to meet every six months and required to convene for the budget session—has also not been held.
Comment