KMC to seek DAO help to recover Rs 460m

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

KATHMANDU: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is planning to ask for help from the District Administration Office Kathmandu to recover its advance budget released to political leaders, users’ committees, and bidders.

According to Kathmandu Metroplitan City officials, about Rs 460 million, which was given to political leaders, several of the local users’ committees, bidders and staffers as advance budget in the last decade, is yet to be recovered.

“We recovered Rs 60 million in the last fiscal while only Rs 10 million was recovered in the year before that,” said Badri Bahadur Khadka, chief of the finance and accounts division at KMC office..

Representatives from major political parties who were then elected are yet to clear about Rs 5.5 million, 76 KMC staffers are yet to pay off some Rs 7.5 million and the remaining amount the of Rs 460 million that need to be cleared by bidders and users’ committees, according to KMC sources.

“We are going to issue warning letters to all those who have taken advance budget soon,” said Khadka.

“City authorities have started recovering the amount from its staffers by deducting their salaries,” he said.

“We will issue letters to political leaders three times. If they fail to clear the advance due, we will ask the district administration to recover the civic body budget,” he claimed.

KMC can release 20 per cent of the total budget of the programmes to bidders and users’ committees in advance. However, the amount is far greater than the limitation.

The rule provisions that the district administration can take legal action in coordination with the metropolis administration.

The only metropolitan city in the whole country had attempted to recover the due budget for the last five years. It made the names of bearers public many times. However, its moves have not been effective.

Kedar Bahadur Adhikari, executive chief at the metropoliatn city, said the recovery amount was increasing while the amount given out as advance budget was decreasing and this was creating a big problem.

“We are taking strict action as per rules in order to recover the advance budget. We are in the process for implementing rules,” he added.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has brought fiscal programmes of Rs. 1.9 billion for the current fiscal year, officials say.