KATHMANDU, July 1: The Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration has sought clarification from 23 local levels that failed to announce their budgets within the stipulated time.
As per the constitutional arrangement, all 753 local governments are mandated to present their annual revenue and expenditure estimates to their municipal or village assemblies by June 24 (Asadh 10) every year. However, 23 local bodies have not filed their budget even one week after the deadline.
The General Administration Ministry has sent letters to the rural municipalities and municipalities instructing them to send a statement explaining the status of the budget formulation process and the reasons for the delay within three days.
Elected representatives of local govts demand more budget from...
According to the Local Government Operation Act, 2017 and the Intergovernmental Financial Management Act, 2017, local levels are required to have their revenue and expenditure (budget) for the upcoming fiscal year approved by the executive and submitted to the assembly by June-end.
The ministry has stated that based on the details entered on its portal and the reports received, some local levels have not submitted the budget for the fiscal year 2026/27 within the deadline specified by the law, and therefore the clarification has been sought.
The letter asks the local bodies to inform the federal government within three days of the date of receipt of the letter, stating the current stage of the budget formulation process, the reason for not being able to submit the budget to the assembly within the stipulated time, and if further coordination or facilitation is required from the ministry.
Numerous local governments in Nepal routinely fail to announce their annual budgets by the legally mandated deadline. Dozens of local units—including major cities—frequently delay their financial plans for months due to political disputes, coordination gaps, and leadership conflicts. A total of 43 local governments failed to announce their budgets even after five months of the commencement of the current fiscal year.
The federal government this time, has requested the concerned local governments frequently delaying budget to provide the upcoming agenda of the local level assembly to facilitate the passage of the budget by June-end. According to the ministry, this initiative has been taken to ensure the full implementation of the legal provisions by completing the budget formulation process at the local level on time.
Meanwhile, budget deliberations have stalled in four provincial assemblies after ruling party lawmakers opposed spending plans introduced by their own governments, exposing widening cracks in the administrations and delaying the passage of budgets for the new fiscal year.
Contrary to the parliamentary practice of beginning discussions soon after a budget is tabled, debates have yet to commence in the provincial assemblies of Sudurpaschim, Lumbini, Karnali and Koshi. As of Tuesday, there is no certainty on when deliberations will begin. For the past two weeks, the provincial assembly of Sudurpaschim has remained inactive.
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