Dharan in a fix with no budget for new FY

Dharan (Sunsari), Aug 20: Dharan Sub-municipal Corporation is in a trouble as the budget estimates for the new fiscal year has not been passed, even a month after it was supposed to be done.     

The budget for the current fiscal year has not been passed by the municipal assembly due to differences between Mayor Harkaraj Rai (Sampang) and Deputy Mayor Indra Bikram Begha.     

Although Local Government Operation Act, 2017 provides that the budget for every fiscal year should be passed by Asad 10 in the lunar calendar, Dharan could not meet the requirement. As a result, development activities, employee salaries, distribution of social security allowances, public services and other financial transactions have come to a standstill.     

The Revenue Advisory Committee led by Deputy Mayor Begha had proposed a budget of around Rs 1.6 billion. However, even before finalizing the budget, the executive meeting could not be held due to increasing differences between the mayor and deputy mayor, resulting in the budget process being obstructed.     

Mayor Rai and Deputy Mayor Begha have been fighting over issues such as the voluntary labour program, administrative decisions, and budget ceiling determination. According to Senior Accounts Officer of Dharan Sub-metropolis, Bheshraj Adhikari, payment for completed projects, employee salary, and other financial transactions have not been made due to the lack of budget approval. Since the start of the new fiscal year, all payments for development project contracts, road maintenance, waste management, and health supplies have been stopped.     

Dharan Spokesperson and Chair of Ward 17, Surya Prasad Bhattarai (Manoj), said that we have already sent the budget ceiling to the ward level based on population, area, revenue collection capacity and development needs. Wards have been given time until next Friday to finalize their plans. After that, the budget will be presented to the municipal assembly in an executive meeting.     

Meanwhile, the local residents have been expressing regret that political differences are hampering their engagement with the sub-metropolis. They have urged all parties to reach an agreement soon and move forward with the budget process.(RSS)