Kathmandu Metropolitan City Unveils Rs 25.88 Billion Budget, Prioritizes Infrastructure

Kathmandu — Kathmandu Metropolitan City has unveiled an estimated budget of Rs 25.88 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84, with infrastructure development receiving the highest priority.

Acting Mayor Sunita Dangol presented the budget on Thursday, saying the allocation has been designed to implement the metropolis’s policies and programs while strengthening infrastructure, public service delivery and administrative management.

Of the total proposed budget, Rs 25.13 billion will be spent through the consolidated fund, while Rs 750 million has been allocated under external expenditure.

The metropolis has projected total income of Rs 25.13 billion in its consolidated fund for the next fiscal year. Of this, Rs 20.18 billion is expected to be managed through internal revenue and bank balance.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City also expects to receive Rs 4.93 billion from the federal and provincial governments through fiscal equalization grants, conditional grants and revenue sharing. An additional Rs 10 million is projected to be collected through public participation.

According to the sectoral allocation, infrastructure development has received the largest share of the budget. The metropolis has allocated Rs 15.31 billion, or 61 percent of the total budget, for this sector.

The social development sector has been allocated Rs 2.42 billion, representing 9.6 percent of the total budget. Governance and interrelated programs have been allocated Rs 2.13 billion, or 8.5 percent.

For office operation and administrative expenses, the metropolis has set aside Rs 4.71 billion, equivalent to 18.8 percent of the total budget. The economic development sector, however, has received only Rs 541.8 million, or 2.1 percent of the total budget.

In the current fiscal year 2082/83, Kathmandu Metropolitan City had approved a budget of Rs 25.11 billion. The proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year is around Rs 770 million higher than the current year’s budget.

The structure of the budget indicates that the metropolis intends to focus primarily on roads, urban infrastructure, public facilities and service delivery. However, the relatively low allocation for economic development suggests limited investment in employment generation, entrepreneurship and production-oriented programs.