Municipality dispute reaches court

By Prem Raj Simkhada,Kalikot, July 29: Chiefs of nine wards of Khandachakra Municipality in Kalikot district have moved the court against Mayor Kamal Bahadur Shahi and Deputy Mayor Ganesh Bahadur Shahi citing reservations in the municipality budget for 2023/24.

The ward chiefs have accused the mayor and deputy mayor of endorsing a budget based on self-interest rather than distributing it fairly in the wards.

The ward chiefs of nine wards reached the Jumla Bench of the Surkhet-based High Court on Thursday and filed the case. The nine ward chiefs represented all the chiefs of the 11 wards of Khandachakra filed the case in the court, informed the ward chiefs.

"The budget endorsed by the mayor and deputy mayor is for corruption. They have even allocated a budget on the topic of repaying earlier payments," said Dinesh Bahadur Shahi, chairman of Ward No. 6 of Khandachakra.

As per the case filed in the court, the ward chiefs have accused the municipal chief and deputy chief of endorsing the budget rejected in the municipal meeting on June 25, 2023.

Similarly, Prabhananda Acharya, chairman of Ward No. 4, said that the mayor and deputy mayor informed about the budget in the minute of the municipal meeting and went outside the district.

"We were bound to move the court when the mayor and deputy mayor continuously denied our repeated requests to amend their self-centred budget," said Acharya.

Meanwhile, Mayor Shahi defended the accusations.

"We should work for the people. Yes, the budget has not been allocated at ward levels because the ward chiefs are waiting to consume the money all by themselves. We will not allocate budget for corruption," said Mayor Shahi.

Mayor Shahi also informed that the trend of corruption by seeking a budget and buying equipment and materials by themselves would not be supported.

"This case is not only against the mayor and deputy mayor but the ward chiefs as well because they are also members of the municipality as the case is against the local level," added Mayor Shahi.