KATHMANDU, April 7: The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has started distributing pending salaries in lump sum following the reinstatement of Chief Administrative Officer, Saroj Guragain. The salaries of KMC staffers, teachers and elected representatives had been halted for several months in the absence of Guragain, who was denied an active role after a fallout with Mayor Balen Shah.
As of Monday, the KMC has already deposited funds into the accounts of more than half of its employees.
Due to a leadership vacuum in the administration, the salaries of over 4,000 employees, and elected representatives had been withheld. Assistant Spokesperson for the KMC Dhurba Kumar Kafle said that all salaries would be paid within this week.
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Guragain, who returned to office last Thursday with the backing of the ruling party UML, had prioritized salary disbursement. Teachers were yet to receive their salaries for five months and employees and people’s representatives for three months.
The KMC has spent around Rs 400 million for the salaries of employees till mid-April in the current fiscal year. The salaries are being distributed via NIC Asia Bank and Nepal Bank.
The metropolitan city has over 4,000 employees, including permanent staffers, contract workers, part-time workers, and daily wage workers, among whom over 1,700 are teachers. The metropolis typically spends Rs 125 million on salaries every month.
Sources have confirmed that Mayor Balen Shah's salary has also been disbursed. His salary, which had been withheld since the month of Magh (mid-January to mid-February), was released along with those of elected representatives and employees.
Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol and other elected representatives played an active role to ensure that Guragain was reinstated in his former role.