Rising arrears in Kailali municipalities raise accountability concerns

Dhangadhi: It has been revealed that not a single rupee of arrears has been settled in Godavari Municipality, which has the highest arrears among local levels in Kailali. According to the Office of the Auditor General’s 2082 report, Godavari Municipality had total arrears of Rs 438.61 million in the fiscal year 2078/079.

In the fiscal year 2079/080, as the arrears remained unsettled, an additional Rs 542.76 million was added, increasing the total arrears to Rs 492.97 million. In the fiscal year 2080/081, instead of clearing previous arrears, a further Rs 587.615 was added, bringing the municipality’s total arrears to Rs 543.78 million. Although the municipality settles arrears identified through feedback, the overall arrears continue to rise annually due to a lack of attention to newly accumulated liabilities.

A similar situation is seen in Ghodaghodi Municipality of Kailali, where the total arrears have reached Rs 527,170,155. While no arrears were settled in the fiscal years 2078/079 and 2079/080, only Rs 62,165 was settled in the fiscal year 2080/081. However, during the same year, an additional Rs 31,749,312 in arrears was added, further increasing the total amount.

These two municipalities are representative examples, as most local levels in Kailali continue to see arrears added every year, while showing little initiative toward their settlement. As a result, the overall arrears are steadily increasing.

According to the Office of the Auditor General’s 2082 report, only Rs 2,114,1070 were settled across 88 local levels of Sudurpaschim Province in the fiscal year 2080/081. Of this amount, Rs 476,924,293 in arrears pertained to 13 local levels in Kailali.

Under this category, Chure Rural Municipality has arrears of Rs 76.73 million, Lamkichuha Municipality Rs 55.788 million, Bhajani Municipality Rs 47.495 million, Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan Municipality Rs 47.269 million, and Tikapur Municipality Rs 42.97 million.

Similarly, Kailari Rural Municipality has arrears of Rs 33.825 million, Gauriganga Municipality Rs 32.95 million, Janaki Rural Municipality Rs 15.590 million, Bardagoriya Rural Municipality Rs 13.614 million, and Joshipur Rural Municipality Rs 9.679 million.

With additional arrears recorded in the fiscal year 2080/081, the total arrears of Kailali’s municipalities have reached Rs 4.11 billion, Rs 7.26 billion and Rs 196 billion. Accordingly, the arrears of Godavari Municipality stand at Rs 543,780,615, Ghodaghodi Municipality Rs 527,170,155, Lamkichuha Municipality Rs 526,422,722 and Bhajani Municipality Rs 373,961,815.

Likewise, the total arrears of Tikapur Municipality have reached Rs 345,150,221, Gauriganga Municipality Rs 333,635, Dhangadhi Sub-metropolitan Municipality Rs 306,857,649, Janaki Rural Municipality Rs 213,555,563, Bardagoriya Rural Municipality Rs 184,250,282, Chure Rural Municipality Rs 167,149 and Joshipur Rural Municipality Rs 129,723,475.