KATHMANDU: The government has halted disbursement of grants to those local governments who have failed to bring the annual budget for 2021-22 on time.
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has directed the Financial Comptroller General Office not to release payments to local governments failing to introduce the budget on stipulated time.
As mandated by the intergovernmental finance management law, local governments should have brought the annual budget by June 24. However, a total of 285 local governments are yet to present their budget for the upcoming year.
As per MoF, 71 local governments of Province 2, 48 local governments each in Province 1 and Bagmati Province, 40 in Karnali Province, 33 in Sudurpaschim Province, 28 in Lumbini Province and 18 local governments in Gandaki Province missed the stipulated deadline to bring the annual budget.
The federal government provides four types of grants to the local governments, fiscal equalisation, conditional, complementary and special grants. However, these grants have been stopped to 285 local governments as they could not bring annual budget on time.