KATHMANDU, April 1: The dispute between Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) and the government over the approval of the Kathmandu Tower House (KTH) design has reached its peak.
For nearly three months, KMC has struggled without a Chief Administrative Officer. KMC Mayor Balendra Shah (Balen Shah) suspended Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain after implicating him in the Kathmandu Tower map approval controversy. Since then, the metropolis has failed to appoint a new Chief Administrative Officer. Mayor Shah has firmly refused to reinstate Guragain under any circumstances.
This leadership vacuum has undermined financial operations, delaying salaries for sanitation workers and teachers.
For nearly three months, Mayor Shah has urged the government to either appoint a new Chief Administrative Officer or grant financial authority to the Acting Chief Administrative Officer. On Tuesday, teachers submitted a memorandum stating they had not received their salaries for the past five months.
Authorities launched an investigation into Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain on December 29 for allegedly approving an 18-story map for the Kathmandu Tower without following due process, even though the original plan was for a 12-story structure.
Following the investigation, Guragain assigned acting executive responsibilities to Govinda Prasad Sharma, head of the Education Department. However, Sharma later resigned, citing personal reasons.
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Currently, Nurnidhi Neupane serves as the Acting Chief Administrative Officer of KMC, but the federal government is yet to grant him financial authority.
On December 29, 2024, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) decided at the mayoral level to investigate Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain. Two days later, on December 31, KMC formed a probe committee under the coordination of Legal Advisor Shekhar Prasad Poudel.
KMC set a 15-day deadline for the committee to submit its report. However, Poudel resigned from his position as a legal advisor. Following his resignation, Mayor Shah appointed his advisor and former government secretary, Shankar Pandey, to lead a new investigation committee.
Initially, the committee received a one-month timeframe to complete its investigation. When that proved insufficient, Mayor Shah granted an additional 10 days. Despite the extension, the committee failed to submit its report on time and requested more time, which Mayor Shah refused.
Meanwhile, KMC sent a letter to the Ministry of General Administration, requesting the appointment of a new Chief Administrative Officer. At the same time, Guragain wrote to the ministry, urging officials to create a favorable environment for his return to KMC.
The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration instructed KMC to create a favorable environment for Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain to resume his duties. However, KMC refused to reinstate Guragain in its response.
The ministry has insisted that it will appoint a new Chief Administrative Officer only after receiving the investigation report on Guragain. Since the probe committee failed to complete its work, Mayor Balendra Shah assigned the heads of the Urban Management Department, the Law and Human Rights Department, and the Public Construction Department to draft a report and submit it to the ministry.
The ministry is yet to respond to this development.
KMC prepares to demolish the tower
Meanwhile, KMC is preparing to demolish the Kathmandu Tower. The office of KMC Mayor Balendra Shah confirmed this amid the escalating dispute over the approval of the tower's map.
Bhupdev Shah, the Chief Private Secretary to Mayor Shah, stated that the government has forced the demolition of the Kathmandu Tower building.
He said, "The government has imposed a blockade on the metropolis by failing to send a Chief Administrative Officer. This has halted the operations of the metropolis. The government's role in creating this situation over the approval of the Kathmandu Tower map suggests its involvement. We are preparing to demolish the tower to expose everyone involved in this matter."
He mentioned that the committee formed to study the construction under the PPP model will proceed based on its recommendations. He added that the committee is currently studying the tower and will submit its report soon.
Birendra Prajapati, the chairperson of Ward No 5 and the head of the PPP study committee, stated that the study is in its final stages and that the committee plans to submit the report shortly. He said, "Our study has reached its final stage. We plan to convene a meeting of the committee and submit the findings. We cannot disclose the contents of the report at this moment, but once we submit it, the details will be clear."
Prajapati also mentioned that the committee is collecting the technical reports of the tower, with other reports already gathered. He added that only the technical report remains to be collected. The committee is now preparing to submit the report at the next executive meeting.