Mudita Bajracharya

Lalitpur, May 17:

With no proposal for small-scale projects submitted, the budget allocated for 10 wards (amounting to Rs 2 lakh for each) in the Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City (LMC) is on the verge of being frozen.

According to Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City, only 12 out of 22 wards in LMC have come up with projects for their respective wards to claim the amount.

The wards need to claim the amount by mid-June, otherwise the amount will be frozen.

“If the wards do not come up with their project proposals soon, the remaining amount will be frozen,” said Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City’s spokesman Ashok Shrestha.

“In the absence of local representatives in the wards to undertake small-scale development projects, the Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City has been operating according to proposals put forward by the local residents through the recommendation of the ward office.”

The wards’ proposals that have been submitted till date include maintenance of sewage tanks, paving alleyways with bricks, widening of streets, repairing of temple roofs, repairing and maintenance of ward buildings.

Clarifying the reason behind the failure to submit project proposals, secretary of Ward-10, Indra Bajracharya, said nobody had turned up for a meeting that was called a month ago to discuss the issue.

He, however, added: “We will hold a meeting with former representatives and locals to work out a list of priority regarding our development projects in the near future.”

Secretary of Ward Number -3 Bishnu Bhakta Shrestha said they had prioritised a project after holding discussions with locals and former ward presidents.

For such projects, the Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City contributes 70 per cent of the total cost, while the consumer’s society formed by locals bear 30 per cent of the cost.

This, according to Shrestha, is an attempt to give local residents a sense of responsibility and ownership.

Earlier, the Lalitpur sub-Metropolitan City used to allocate Rs 3 lakh for each ward, but has now reduced it to Rs 2 lakh.