KATHMANDU: About 7 per cent local bodies have failed to present the budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2022/23 by the stipulated date – 10th of Ashadh or June 24 this year, set by the Intergovernmental Fiscal Arrangement Act, 2017.
Pokhara Metropolitan City has announced its budget a day later on Saturday while 26 municipalities and 25 rural municipalities couldn’t present their policy, programmes and budgets till Saturday.
Madhes province tops the list of non-performing local bodies with 20 municipalities and 12 rural municipalities failing to announce the next year’s budget.
Gandaki province is the only sub-national entity where all local governments have presented their budget.
According to Municipalities Association Nepal (MuAN), 26 municipalities have failed to present their budget – 3 from Province 1, 20 from Madhes, 1 from Bagmati and 2 from Karnali.
Likewise, National Association of Rural Municipalities said in a statement that 12 rural municipalities of Madhes, three of Lumbini, two of Bagmati and one each of Karnali and Sururpaschim couldn’t announce their annual estimates of income and expenditure. It also informed that contact with two rural municipalities each from Karnali, Sururpaschim and Province 1 couldn’t be made till Saturday evening.
In terms of percentage, 95 per cent of rural municipalities (435 out of 460) have presented their budget while 91.1 per cent municipalities (267 out of 293) could announce it.