KATHMANDU: The municipal council meeting of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City scheduled for mid-July, to approve the annual budget and programmes of the

current fiscal year, is yet to be held.

“We cannot tell when the meeting will be held,” said Shaligram Rijal, assistant executive at the KMC. “Neither the members of the elected local body nor its chief executive are here,” said Rijal.

The delay in holding the council meeting for the approval of the annual budget and programmes will badly affect the implementation of regular development projects of the metropolis.

Some of the development projects initiated last

year are yet to be completed due to the delay in passing the budget and programmes.

Rijal said the Ministry of Finance had changed the criteria of the mechanism to carry out the duties of the civic body in the absence of elected representatives.

Earlier, there was a provision where representatives of the seven political parties would carry out the duties of the civic body as per the Comprehensive Peace Accord.

“Later, MoF has directed the formation of a political mechanism representing members of all the political parties of the CA,” said Rijal.

“Therefore, the possibility of gathering representatives of all the parties and holding the meeting in the near future is very unlikely,” he added.

According to the KMC, the estimated annual budget approved last year was Rs 1.85 billion.