KATHMANDU, JULY 8
The federal government has allocated additional budget to 45 local levels for development and construction of physical infrastructure necessary for local governments to deliver services more effectively.
According to the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, additional amount of Rs 446.3 million was credited to the accounts of 45 local levels last week after they complained of budget deficit to cover liabilities created in the running fiscal. The additional budget received by the local levels is somewhere between Rs 3 million and Rs 30 million. The local levels - both municipalities and rural municipalities - had appealed to the MoFAGA for additional budget along with submission of their financial and physical progress in the construction of their administrative buildings.
A total of 221 local levels were selected for operation of programmes under the 'Local Level Administrative Building Infrastructure Development Programme Operating Procedure, 2021' in the running fiscal.
The federal government had provided 221 local levels with budget ranging from Rs 1.8 million to Rs 12 million each for the current fiscal year on the basis of proposals submitted by them.
Some of the local levels had recently requested the MoFA- GA to allocate additional budget for completion of their administrative building, citing reasons thereof. "We decided to allocate an additional budget to 45 local levels on the basis of study and analysis of financial and physical progress submitted by them," said Joint Secretary Bishnu Datta Gautam.
Local level administrative building infrastructure development programme is being carried out with the cost participation of the federal and local governments. A rural municipality has to contribute at least 40 per cent of the total cost, municipality at least 50 per cent and sub-metropolitan city at least 60 per cent depending on inland revenue capacity and availability of physical infrastructure at the local level. The remaining sum is borne by the federal government for each local level.
However, the government may provide additional grants to rural municipalities and municipalities of remote areas, which are at the bottom of the Human Development Index.
The local levels need to arrange land on their own for project development. Any local level wishing to participate in this programme is required to submit a proposal to the Department of Local Infrastructure for construction of administrative building. The department prioritises the programme on the basis of proposals received from the local levels and submits them to a six-member steering committee headed by the chief of Planning and Development Assistance Division at the MoFAGA for approval.
Once the project is approved, the local level concerned has to prepare a detailed project report of administrative building in order to be eligible to receive the budget.
The local level may also obtain necessary consultancy service while preparing the DPR.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 9 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
