Kotihimai Rural Municipality Fails to Present Budget Due to Internal Disputes

Butwal. The budget for the current financial year has not yet been presented in Kotihimai Rural Municipality of Rupandehi due to internal disputes.

Local levels are legally required to present the budget for the upcoming financial year to the village assembly by June 10th each year. However, Kotihimai Rural Municipality has not been able to bring the budget even though it is August 8th.

The rural municipality chairman Bal Krishna Tripathi said that the budget could not be presented due to a lack of agreement on the budget ceiling. He stated that the village assembly could not convene due to disagreements among ward chairpersons and the absence of the chief administrative officer.

Meanwhile, Chief Administrative Officer Satendra Yadav said that the village assembly could not convene because the representatives did not agree on the budget. A preparation was made to call the village assembly on June 26th here, but the assembly could not be held due to a lack of agreement on the budget.

Rural Municipality Spokesperson Sanjay Kumar Saini said that the budget could not be presented because Chairman Tripathi and Chief Administrative Officer Yadav also did not agree.

The rural municipality's account operations have also been affected due to the budget not being passed. Chairman Tripathi claimed that preparations are underway to advance the process of operating the account from next Monday and to bring the budget within two to four days thereafter.

All other local levels in Rupandehi have brought their budgets on time. However, in Kotihimai Rural Municipality, the budget was delayed last year as well due to internal disputes.

Vivek Ghimire, Information Officer and Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, said that the accounts of local levels that do not bring the budget within the legal time limit should be stopped. 'The financial equalization grant that such local levels receive may be reduced from next year,' he said.