Jayaprithvi Municipality distributes Rs 1 million in allowances overnight, locals demand probe

Dhangadhi: Bajhang’s Jayaprithvi Municipality has distributed allowances worth around Rs 1 million to 35 individuals working in the municipality on the night of Ashad 10.

According to publicly available details, locals and stakeholders have called for an investigation, alleging that a large sum was distributed in the name of allowances without clear work performance, decisions or legal basis.

Local sources suspect that the allowances may have been disbursed hastily to utilize the budget at the end of the fiscal year. They claim that payments were made without additional work being carried out or without following procedures prescribed by law.

Nepal’s Good Governance (Management and Operation) Act, 2064, the Local Government Operation Act, 2074, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2059 stipulate that individuals holding public office should not give or receive financial benefits against the law. Locals have questioned whether public resources were misused and allowances distributed in an unauthorized manner. They have demanded an independent investigation into the incident, including scrutiny of the payment process, decision-making basis, meeting minutes and legal justification for the disbursement.

They have further stated that such end-of-year expenditures could weaken financial discipline at the local level and erode public trust in government institutions.

Jayaprithvi Municipality Chief Executive Officer Sunil Thakulla said the payments were annual TADA allowances for employees.

“We have paid the TADA to the employees. The amount appears higher because it is a year-long TADA,” he said, adding that the approved allowance was distributed in accordance with rules.

However, locals have alleged that the allowances were distributed to exhaust the budget and have urged the Office of the Auditor General, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration to conduct a necessary investigation.