NAWALPARASI, August 9: Chairmen of various wards under Ramgram Municipality in Nawalparasi have said they are unaware about the budget allocated for the wards.
Ward chiefs have vented their ire against the mayor and the officials of the municipality for allocating the budget without holding a board meeting.
Chairpersons of various wards have accused the mayor of taking such a big decision on his own. According to the ward chiefs, the mayor along with other officers of the municipality sanctioned the budget for the wards saying they are in a rush to conduct a municipal assembly. Irked by the decision which they say has limited their rights, the ward chiefs have warned of foiling the ward assembly.
Madan Yadav, chairperson of ward no 4, said that they were shocked when they received a letter from the municipality requesting them to select a project within three days without even conducting a board meeting. According to the ward chiefs, the budget which has been sanctioned for the wards is not even enough to run a small project.
Krishna Prasad Chapagain, acting chief of the municipality, stated that the budget has been allocated on the basis of various criteria like geography, population and necessity. Though municipality has received Rs 280 million for the development of wards, the ward chiefs have accused that they have only received Rs 100 million. So, they have demanded the entire budget sanctioned for the development of the wards.
Chapagain informed that the budget was allocated as per the guidelines of the municipality. He further informed that a board meeting was not necessary for taking the decision. Rudra Prasad Upadhyay, chairperson of ward no 1 said, "The letter says that the decision was taken by a board meeting but no board meeting has taken place at all."
The ward chiefs have urged the mayor to make the budget transparent by calling a meeting as soon as possible.
According to Narendra Gupta, mayor of the municipality, the wards have been provided with a partial amount as it is important to save some money for future projects too. Even though the budget was not allocated by the board, all the members were informed about the procedure of distribution, informed Gupta. With this, Gupta also made it clear that a separate budget will be provided for the central level projects.
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