Bagbazar traders protest against parking ban

The traders at Bagbazar protested, though, symbolically today by closing their shops after the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) imposed a complete ban on parking in the area.

The complete ban on parking has affected our businesses, they said, before closing their shop from 1 PM today. 

They also demanded the metropolis to make arrangements for parking lot. The metropolis has imposed complete ban on vehicle parking on the streets of Bagbazar due to growing traffic congestion.

The widened road from Putali Sadak to Ratnapark overhead bridge – mostly the shopping area – is two-way but the shoppers and offices along the road park their vehicles on the both sides of road, which has created traffic congestion.

Lately, the widened city roads in Kathmandu have become parking lots. In some places, the locals also charge for the vehicle parking, on their own, which is illegal. But the metropolis has not shown interest, for which the metropolis is also blamed of having ‘cuts’ in the illegal parking charges.

Kathmandu Metropolis shaming tax defauletr with music and dance

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has launched an innovative campaign to recover tax dues from businesses and entities in the capital.

The metropolis officials today went around the capital city with all-women musician troupe playing traditional music like panche baja door-todoor , with a group of city police personnel blowing bullhorn to remind the defaulters to pay their taxes. They were wearing sashes with messages to pay tax on time.

They visited the offices of five tax defaulters — Kantipur Hotel at ward 1, Hotel Platinum at Soalteemode, WhiteField School, RB Complex, and Kesha Properties and Ranjana Trade Centre at New Road, today. The band reached the houses of people, who had not paid the tax and sang a song urging them to abide by the citizens' role to compulsory pay property tax on time. They also pasted tax notices at the offices warning them to pay the dues within a week or face legal action.

The metropolis is, however, criticised for only pressuring the small tax payers, and not pressing the big tax payers to pay tax.

The city office claimed that it will take action according to the Local Government Operation Act 2017 and other prevailing laws, if the defaulters did not clear the taxes by September 9.

The city office -- in July-end -- had announced to padlock the offices of 23 tax defaulters. Earlier, in June too, the City office had named some 23 businesses and entities as tax defaulters, including Chirayu Hospital, Kantipur Dental Hospital, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Shaheed Memorial Hospital, National Hospital, Manmohan Hospital, New Road Team, United Trade Centre, Buddhabai Complex, Bagmati Chamber, Kathmandu Engineering College, Nepal Tuberculosis Centre, Nepal Red Cross Society, Aadhar Complex, Agriculture Inputs Company Ltd, RB Complex, Suraj Arcade, Manmohan Memorial College, Shubhashree Cooperatives, Kathmandu Plaza, Nepal Share Market Complex, Gopalji Properties and Star Mall.

Later, on August 8, the City’s revenue department had named some 52 more tax defaulters giving them a month, until September first week, to clear the dues.

Of the total 75 tax-defaulters, some 10 have paid some of the tax dues. The City office collected a total of Rs 24.9 million from them, according to the revenue department of the City office. "Though, 75 businesses and entities owe around Rs 65 million in taxes."

The metropolis is encouraging locals to pay their property tax pending for the last three to 28 years. The Kathmandu metropolis charges 0.01 per cent of the government's evaluation of property, which is one of the lowest among other local governments inside the valley.

Kathmandu to restart night buses

Kathmandu Metropolitan City – in coordination with the Department of Transport Management – is once again operating night buses in Kathmandu, though some 8 years ago, it failed to continue the service.
Spokesperson at the metropolis Ishwor Man Dangol confirmed that the metropolis is – after numerous failed attempts – planning to operate night bus also targeting the Visit Nepal Year 2020 (VNY2020) campaign.
The metropolis and the department – on June 10 – also said that they planned to start bus services before too but could not start. The department had – on the same day – hiked bus fares by 20 per cent without holding any proper discussion with the stakeholders. But the next day, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport ordered rolling back the hiked fare.
But the metropolis is planning to start the night bus service before Visit Nepal Year 2020, Dangol said, adding that it is planning to operate a round the clock inexpensive bus services from Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) to Central Business District. “In its official gazette – issued on April 12 – the metropolis had directed public transport operators to run vehicles from 5 am to 9 pm between October 18 to February 12, and 5 am to 10 pm between February 13 and October 17 but the order has not been implemented.”
With its Rs 2.5 million and Finance Ministry’s Rs 2 million budget in 2012, the metropolis had operated 16 buses after 8 pm but due to a lack of proper planning, it couldn’t last more than six months.
The transportation sector is led by the private sector.

Lalitpur city unveils Nepal’s first seed vending machine

Lalitpur Metropolitan City today unveiled the first of its kind ‘seed vending machine’ in the country to promote rooftop vegetable farming in the city and provide farmers with quality seeds at reasonable prices.
Lalitpur Mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan unveiled the state-of-the-art machine in the presence of secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Yubak Dhoj GC, chief of the Agriculture Division Office of the metropolis , Keshav Adhikari, local farmers and journalists. “Our main target is to promote root-top vegetable and flower farming in the city and to provide quality seeds to citizens with minimal cost,” Maharjan said, adding that it will help reduce the organic solid waste to a great extent which is the main problem in the city, if roof-top farming is promoted. “The metropolis is looking forward to installing such machines in all the 29 wards.”
The service seekers, who come at the municipal office, will also buy seeds from the vending machine, he added. “Through the vending machine, farmers can get 36 different varieties of seeds of vegetables and flowers.”
One can buy the vegetable and flower seeds of choice pressing a button on the screen of the vending machine that displays the variety of seeds along with their pictures and price. One needs to put a clean currency bill on the machine and the vending machine issues the packet. The cost ranges from Rs 10, Rs 20 and Rs 40 to Rs 100.
The machine was procured in a public private partnership model involving Saakal Agro and Seed Traders.  The machine imported from Chennai of India at the cost Rs 900,000 will be operated by traders and they will be looking after its overall maintenance too, Maharjan said, adding that traders needs to renew licence to operate the machine, every year.
“Mayor Maharjan is working with an innovative idea,” agriculture secretary GC said, adding that Nepal’s economy is dependent on agriculture. “The machine will be of great help for commoners to get the seeds they are looking for.”
The city installed ‘Water ATM’ or ‘Pani Padhero’ – in March – to provide the public easy access to safe drinking water, where anyone can drink 200 ml water paying Rs 2.

Local governments present budget for next fiscal year

Following the federal and provincial budgets, most of the local bodies presented their budgets in the municipal assemblies today. A few urban and rural municipalities have presented their budget ahead of the final deadline that is today.
According to the provision of the Intergovernmental Fiscal Management Act, local governments must announce their budgets in their respective assemblies by Asadh 10 of the Nepali calendar, some 20 days before the beginning of the new fiscal year. Based on the law, most of the metropolises, sub-metropolises, urban and rural municipalities have presented their budgets in the municipal assemblies today.
The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) – in coordination with the Finance Ministry – had forwarded a circular to all the local bodies to present their budget by Asadh 10. But some 100 municipalities failed to present their budget by today’ deadline, according to the law. In the current fiscal year some 25 municipalities have failed to bring the budget, some 40 local governments had announced their budget without presenting ‘Programmes and Policies’.
Those municipalities, which were unable to present their budget today’s deadline will face problems in receiving the grant provided by the Finance Ministry, according to the joint secretary at the Federal Ministry Jaya Narayan Acharya.
Among six metropolis, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has presented a budget of Rs 15.50 billion – which is the largest among all the 753 local governments – for the next fiscal year. Likewise, Pokhara metropolis has presented a budget of Rs 7.54 billion, Lalitpur Rs 5.17 billion, Biratnagar Rs 5.12 billion, Birgunj Rs 4.48 billion and Bharatpur has presented a budget of Rs 3.37 billion for the next fiscal year. Likewise, Hetauda sub-metropolitan presented a budget of Rs 1.81 billion for the fiscal year 2019-20.
The local governments will finance their budgets through their own revenue, grant transferred from the federal and provincial governments, revenue shared from the federal government and provincial governments and through internal debt, according to the Constitution.
The total of 753 local governments will be able to mobilise revenue – shared from the divisible fund and calculated according to the formula prepared by the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission – worth Rs 65.45 billion for next fiscal 2019-20. They will directly get 15 per cent of the total value added tax (VAT) and internal excise, apart from 25 per cent royalty collected from mountaineering, electricity, forest, mines and minerals, water resources and other natural resources, according to the Constitution.
Likewise, the federal government will transfer a total of Rs 89.93 billion as equalisation grant and Rs 123.87 billion as conditional grant to the local governments. The provincial governments will also transfer grants to the local governments, under fiscal transfer.
Grants from the federal government are transferred in four tranches – every quarter – from the beginning of the fiscal year in mid-July. The federal government has increased grant amount to local bodies by Rs 18.77 billion to Rs 213.82 billion for fiscal year 2019-20.
The federal government transfers 40 per cent of the conditional grant in the beginning of the fiscal year and the remaining amount is transferred based on the performance of the expenses.
According to the National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, equalisation grant has been allocated based on the need of development in local governments including multidimensional poverty, socioeconomic discrimination and status of infrastructure development in local units.
The National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission is the constitutional body that recommends required fiscal transfer to sub-national governments and manages the utilisation of natural resources in an undisputed manner but this year, according to the commission sources, the Finance Ministry has overruled the commission’s authority in budgetary process. 

Kathmandu metropolis presents Rs 15.5 billion budget

The Kathmandu Metropolis has brought a budget of Rs 15.50 billion – the largest budget among the metropolis – for the fiscal year 2019-20.
Metropolis deputy mayor Hariprabha Khadgi Shrestha presented the budget in the fifth convention of the Metropolis' Council today. “The budget for the coming fiscal year is an increase by 19 per cent compared to the current fiscal year's budget of Rs 13.2 billion budget,” she said, adding that the Metropolis has aimed at raising Rs 7.56 billion as its internal source, which is 52.58 per cent of the total budget. “Under the expenditure, Rs 1.55 billion is allocated for capital expenditure.”
The budget has prioritised infrastructure development as it has allocated Rs 7.43 billion, some 39 per cent of the total budget, to the sector.
Likewise, Kathmandu metropolitan city expects to raise Rs 7.5 billion – which is 52.58 per cent of the total budget – through revenue from its internal sources. “The budget has targeted to generate Rs 3.6 billion from local tax revenue, Rs 2.4 billion from non-tax revenue and Rs 1.5 billion as revenue sharing,” the deputy mayor said, adding that the metropolis has allocated Rs 594.3 million for office operation, and Rs 1.41 billion to pay salaries and allowances for its staff.
The budget has allocated Rs 1.34 billion for education sector, Rs 1.52 billion for social development, Rs 123 million for the public health sector, she added. “Similarly, the metropolis has allocated Rs 50.4 million for the Prime Minister Employment Programme.”
Likewise, deputy mayor said that a 'Mayor Ujjyalo' programme will be launched for maintaining lights on the major intersection of the valley roads. “Some major activities planned for the coming fiscal year,” she said, “are flyover, overhead bridges, construction of Metropolis Elderly Citizen Hospital, modernisation of Balaju Garden, production of energy from the waste collected in the Metropolis, cleaning of rivers.”
Deputy mayor Khadgi said the metropolitan city has not been able to meet its revenue target because it has not been able to bring big taxpayers under the tax net due the delay in formulating laws.
Thus, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has proposed increasing the tax net in the new fiscal year 2019-20 rather than increasing the rates of taxation.