03 | MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
NATIONAL
As revenue dips, provincial
and local governments worry
about funds from centre
Federal government can reduce the promised funds but this would jeopardise projects.
PRITHVI MAN SHRESTHA
KATHMANDU, SEPT 13
Tilagufa Municipality in Kalikot dis-
trict is implementing several projects
related to health, road, drinking water
and small hydropower this fiscal year.
One of them is building a 14-km
road between Chhapre and Balichaur
linking three villages in the rural
municipality and a budget of Rs50
million has been allocated for it.
For the road project, the municipal-
ity expects Rs30 million from the fed-
eral government as part of the
fiscal equalisation grant that provin-
cial and local governments are legally
entitled to.
But with the federal government
struggling to raise revenue as expect-
ed, they may not get the promised fis-
cal transfer.
“We will have to reduce the fiscal
equalisation grant to the provincial
and local governments if the revenue
decreases by more than 10 percent of
the target,” said Dhaniram Sharma,
chief of budget division at the Finance
Ministry.
In the first month of the current
fiscal year, revenue collection came
down by 12 percent to Rs58 billion
compared Rs67 billion collected in the
same period last fiscal year, according
to the Finance Ministry.
Under the fiscal equalisation grant,
one of the five ways that the federal
government transfers funds to provin-
cial and local governments, the feder-
al government transfers 15 percent of
the value added tax and 15 percent of
excise duty to provincial governments
and to local governments, according
to the Intergovernmental Fiscal
Transfer Act 2016.
The federal government’s biggest
source of revenue is the value-added
tax with 36 percent of the total reve-
nue of the current fiscal year coming
from it.
Provincial and local governments
had prepared their plans and pro-
grammes for the fiscal year taking
into account the grant that they would
receive from the centre.
“It will be difficult for both provin-
cial and local governments to imple-
ment their development programmes
without receiving the promised
budget,” said Indra Bahadur Angbo,
minister for economic affairs and
planning at Province 1.
But, according to the Appropriation
Act 2020, the federal government can
reduce the promised fiscal transfer if
revenue collection remains lower than
targeted.
It provides these funds in four
instalments and with the first instal-
ment already sent it can still adjust
BRIEFING
400 houses waterlogged
NAWALPARASI (EAST): Rainwaters have
inundated around 400 houses at
Wards 2 and 4 of Gaidakot in
Nawalparasi (East). The rainfall of
the past two days has waterlogged the
houses north from the East-West
Highway due to the lack of a proper
water outlet. The local people com-
plained that they had been enduring
the flooding problem for the past two
decades but the concerned
authorities have done nothing to
address the issue.
Journalists protest attack
DHANGADHI: The Dhangadhi-based
journalists staged a demonstration on
Sunday, demanding strong action
against the persons involved in beat-
ing media persons. They took out a
protest rally that converged into a
corner meet in front of the District
Administration Office in Kailali. A
group of around 20 people barged
into Dinesh Media House on Friday
and thrashed a journalist and misbe-
haved with others. Search is on to nab
the people involved in the incident,
said police.
Province 1 Assembly member
suspended for three months
TAPLEJUNG: The district committee of
Nepal Communist Party has suspend-
ed its leader Hom Kumari Sanwa,
who is also the member of Province 1
Assembly, for three months. The NCP
district committee meeting held on
Sunday took the decision after Sanwa
was caught verbally abusing a woman
on social media.
16 Nepal Army soldiers among
27 infected in Lamjung
LAMJUNG: Sixteen Nepal Army sol-
diers are among the 27 people who
tested positive for the coronavirus
infection in Lamjung district on
Sunday. All the infected soldiers were
from the Agriculture and Vocational
Training Centre in Sundar Bazaar. A
total 334 people have been infected
with the virus in Lamjung so far.
the amounts depending on future
revenues.
“The existing ratio fiscal transfer
allocated to provincial and local gov-
ernments is already very low,” said
Angbo, referring to the fixed propor-
tion of 15 percent of value added tax
and excise duty.
While the amounts received under
the fiscal equalisation grant is fixed,
the other three grants are not.
Conditional grants are given to pro-
vincial and local governments to
implement set programmes of the fed-
eral government including paying the
centre’s liabilities such as salaries to
the government staff, special grants
are given for programmes which are
of the provincial and local govern-
ments but are part of the federal gov-
ernment policies, and supplementary
grants are based on proposals on
infrastructure development. Revenue
sharing is fixed and the source is the
revenue from natural resources with-
in the province or the municipality
territory.
Local governments
heavily rely on the
centre for their
annual expenditure.
According to Angbo, in the fiscal
year 2019-20, because of reduced reve-
nue, the provincial governments
received only 60 percent of the prom-
ised amount under the revenue shar-
ing mechanism.
Provincial and local governments
heavily rely on the federal govern-
ment for much of their annual expend-
iture. For example, in the fiscal year
2018-19, the seven provincial govern-
ments received a total of Rs110.46 bil-
lion from the centre while they were
able to generate only Rs68.72 billion,
according to Financial Comptroller
General Office, which keeps record of
the income and expenditure of the
three tiers of the government.
The local governments rely even
more on fiscal transfer from federal
and provincial governments. In the
fiscal year 2018-19, local governments
were dependent on nearly three quar-
ters of their budgets from the federal
and provincial governments, accord-
ing to the Financial Comptroller
General Office.
In total, from the federal govern-
ment they received 55 percent of their
resources. Of the total budget of
Rs382.6 billion of the 753 local govern-
ments, the contribution of the federal
Coronavirus pandemic offers hope for cycling future
More bicycles on the streets will mean the pressure on the government to invest on cycling-friendly infrastructure including repairing potholes will grow.
ANUP OJHA
KATHMANDU, SEPT 13
One of the first things Yogendra
Ranjitkar did after Nepal went into
lockdown on March 24 was he dusted
off his bicycle. “It had remained
unused in the corner of the dark store-
room,” said the 46-year-old music
teacher from Maitidevi. “I stopped
riding the bicycle when I was 25. I find
Kathmandu a very dangerous place
for bicycle users. I never thought I
would be pedalling around the city
again.”
Since the beginning of Covid-19
crisis in March, the humble bicycle
has become a boon for the Ranjitkar
family.
Ranjitkar has also bought a new
bicycle for his 11-year-old daughter,
Sasu. It cost him Rs 45,000.
“I couldn’t find any cheaper bicycle
as there is such a demand and there-
fore a shortage in the market,” said
Ranjitkar.
A growing number of people in
Kathmandu are using bicycles as an
alternative to public transportation
with the spread of Covid-19.
Bicycles have long been popular in
Nepal’s plains. But with the pandemic
and disruption in public transporta-
tion with the odd-even rule for motor-
ised transport, its popularity has
soared elsewhere.
“I had no option but to buy a bicycle
as even during lockdown my office
remained open,” said Ram Hari Karki,
33, who works in an insurance compa-
ny in New Baneshwor, who cycles to
work from his home at Samakhusi
every day.
According to Nepal Cycle Society, a
cycling advocacy organisation, over
45,000 new cyclists have been added
in Kathmandu after the lockdown
started in March and there are now
over 100,000 cyclists in Kathmandu
Valley now.
Cycling enthusiasts are excited
about this sudden rise in the number
of cycle users that they hope this
could be instrumental in forcing the
government to spend on infrastruc-
ture to promote cycling.
government was Rs210.71 billion. The
other 20 percent was received from
respective provincial governments.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic,
all three tiers of the government are
struggling to collect the revenue as
per the target. In previous years, the
federal government usually met the
revenue target.
In the last fiscal year, revenue
collections remained far less than ini-
tially targeted due to the lockdown
imposed to prevent the coronavirus
spread. While the government’s target
was to collect Rs1.11 trillion in the last
fiscal year, it revised the collection
target to Rs827 billion during the
mid-term review in early 2020. At the
end it collected revenue of merely
Rs793 billion.
But total collection reached Rs841
billion with unutilised monies from
various funds.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic is
spreading, we cannot rule out reduced
revenue collection,” said Sharma of
the Finance Ministry.
Provincial governments can raise
internal loans to meet the shortfall of
resources to implement their pro-
grammes. As per guidelines issued by
the National Natural Resources and
Fiscal Commission, they can raise
international debt as much as 12.5
percent of their last fiscal’s revenue
collection.
But, Minister Angbo said that the
federal government has failed to pre-
pare federal law on how the provincial
governments could raise debt and
without it they are helpless in this
regard.
“Provincial laws and rules are pre-
pared based on federal laws and rules
and the federal government has not
yet prepared its own law to guide the
provincial government,” said the
minister.
Local governments which are heav-
ily dependent on the centre for grant
are also worried about possible reduc-
tion in funding.
‘We award contracts for various pro-
jects assuming that the central gov-
ernment will provide the promised
budget,” said Ashok Byanju Shrestha,
president of Municipal Association
Nepal. “How can we pay the contrac-
tor without getting promised resourc-
es from the federal government?”
Not getting the promised funds
would mean Tilagufa Municipality
may not be able to finance a drinking
water project in Baidhunga which
would serve around 300 families.
“Without the central government’s
funding, it will be difficult to imple-
ment the important project,” said
Ratna Bahadur Shahi, mayor of the
municipality.
Yogendra Ranjitkar and his daughter Sasu ride together in Nakkhu, Lalitpur.
“This is an ideal time to promote
cycling in Nepal,” said environmental-
ist Bhusan Tuladhar, who himself has
been promoting and pressuring the
government to construct cycle friend-
ly infrastructure in the country.
“Cycling has been taken up through-
out the globe due to the global Covid-
19 pandemic.”
The 2011 census data shows 32.38
percent of households have bicycles.
In urban areas 29.95 percent people
own bicycles.
“People from all economic classes
can afford to buy bicycles, and the
trend is up, this is really good for the
environment,” said Tuladhar.
Although cycling may have been
seen as a poor man’s transport, that is
not the case now.
“I have a car and motorcycle at
home but I have hardly been using
them since the pandemic. I cycle much
more now,” said Dr Pawan Sharma, 59,
a gynaecologist at Patan Academy of
Health Sciences.
“Besides health benefits, cyclists
are also contributing to a cleaner envi-
ronment. All those who ride on four
wheels and motorcycles should respect
cyclists for this contribution,” said
Sharma , who is also an active mem-
ber of the cycle club in the Patan
Hospital.
Amid the pandemic there is the
Children receive meals from volunteers in Tankeshwor, Kathmandu, on Sunday. Homeless and needy people have been relying on handout meals
to survive amid the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions as the government has no system to support the less fortunate members of society.
First batch of Nepalis returning
from Lebanon after months of wait
Nepalis in Lebanon want the government to continue the repatriation flights.
CHANDAN KUMAR MANDAL
KATHMANDU, SEPT 13
After months-long wait, the Nepali
migrant workers stranded in the cri-
sis-stricken Lebanon are finally
returning home this week. The first
batch of workers will land in
Kathmandu on Wednesday.
Until last week, Manju had little
hope of returning home after she had
gone through numerous rescheduling
of flights. Now, her hopes of flying
back home have once again got wings
with the latest development.
“We are finally coming home,”
Manju told the Post from Beirut over
the phone. “I cannot express how
happy it feels to be returning home
after several months of struggle.”
The joy of Rai, another migrant
worker who wished to be identified
only by her last name, also knows no
bounds upon learning that the flight
service was finally going to restart.
“Like everyone, I am so glad to learn
that I will be returning home soon,”
said Rai, has been living in the West
Asian country since 2009.
The special repatriation flight will
be flying home more than 34 Nepalis.
Most of them are women migrant
workers who had reached Lebanon to
work as domestic help.
According to Ashok Thapa, the
president of the Lebanon chapter of
added benefit of safety. Doctors say
commuting on cycle could play an
important role in breaking the corona-
virus transmission chain.
“Commuting on public vehicles is
very dangerous at a time of Covid-19.
You can’t maintain social distancing
but cycling helps one to remain safe
from infection,” said Dr. Sher Bahadur
Pun, a virologist at the Sukraraj
Tropical and Infectious Disease
Hospital, Teku. “Unlike motorbikes
and cars one cannot give a lift on a
bicycle.”
Around the country, cycling has
become popular for a few years now.
Since India’s economic blockade in
2015 that caused a crippling shortage
of petroleum products, there has been
a steady increase in bicycle use.
According to the Department of
Customs, Nepal imported bikes worth
Rs801.3 million in the fiscal year 2015-
16. In the fiscal year 2018-19, this fig-
ure stood at Rs 1.5 billion.
Laxmi Shrestha, 51, a freelance pho-
tojournalist from Mangal Bazar, has
been cycling for the past two years.
More than 20 women in my locality
recently bought cycles after the pan-
demic started,” she said. “Ten of them
work at the same office and they cycle
in a group to work.”
But she has a complaint that is
familiar among bicycle enthusiasts—
Non-Resident Nepali Association, the
number of Nepali migrant workers
returning home on the Qatar Airways
flight, would go up as ticket booking is
still open.
For a long time, Nepali migrant
workers living and working in
Lebanon have been waiting to return
home as the country has been hit by
numerous crises in the last few
months.
Since last year the West Asian coun-
try has been undergoing the worst
economic crisis in its history. The
country already reeling with hyperin-
flation and job losses was caught in
the grips of the Covid-19 pandemic
when it was hit by the August 4 explo-
sion in the capital city that killed
hundreds of people.
Hundreds of Nepali migrant work-
ers who were caught amid all these
crises wanted to return home. But
with no help forthcoming from the
Nepal government, the workers were
in a situation of helplessness and for-
gotten in a foreign land for several
months.
“The flight could finally be arranged
after regular efforts of the Honorary
Consulate of Nepal in Lebanon, Nepal
Embassy in Cairo and frequent media
reporting about the plights of Nepali
workers in Lebanon,” said Thapa.
“Nepalis going on the scheduled
flights were languishing here for sev-
PHOTO COURTESY: RATNA SHRESTHA
there are no cycling lanes on
the Valleys roads and they are full of
potholes .
Ratna Shrestha, founder and presi-
dent of the Nepal Cycle Society, said
that it is the right time for the govern-
ment and local bodies of Kathmandu
Valley to invest in cycle lanes.
He says on average a person com-
mutes around 10 km in a day in
Kathmandu Valley and the distance is
ideal for cycling which has an average
speed 14km an hour.
There have indeed been some efforts
by local governments to make their
cities bicycle friendly. But Shrestha
and many other people who have long
been into promoting cycles say it’s not
adequate.
Lalitpur Metropolitan City made
the Valley’s first dedicated cycle lanes
from Kupondole to Mangal Bazar in
November 2019, a distance of 4.7 kilo-
metres. The city also tried to pass New
Cycle Law 2020 to guarantee cyclists’
welfare but it failed.
Kathmandu Metropolitan City too
announced plans to make a cycle lane
on the 3.1 kilometre stretch from
Maitighar to Tinkune but nothing has
come of it. In June Mayor Bidya
Sundar Shakya, as part of his annual
plans and policy, announced subsidies
for his staff to buy bicycles.
But cycling enthusiasts criticised
POST PHOTO: SANJOG MANANDHAR
eral months without jobs. They were
living in scarcity and even suffering
for food and accommodation.”
The Honorary Consulate of Nepal
and other welfare organisations
have paid for the PCR tests for most
of the Nepalis taking Tuesday’s flight.
It is estimated that Lebanon hosts
nearly 5,000 Nepali workers, including
2,000-3,000 women working as
housemaids.
With the economic slowdown and
then the pandemic, the women Nepali
workers have been affected the most
as their host families have been una-
ble to pay them.
The Nepalis living in Lebanon want
the government to conduct regular
flight service to evacuate those who
are in trouble.
According to Thapa, nearly 80 per-
cent of Nepalis in Lebanon want to
return home as they have been affect-
ed with the recent turn of events in
the country.
“More people will be buying tickets
in the coming weeks for Nepal. This is
just the beginning of a significant
number of Nepalis returning home,”
said Thapa.
“This should not be the last flight
from Lebanon to Nepal. If not many, at
least one repatriation flight should be
allowed from Lebanon. These workers
must return home as they have
no jobs.”
him for not making a single
cycle-friendly lane in his three years
tenure.
“Announcements are only limited
in plans and seminars,” said Shrestha.
He, however, is optimistic about the
future of cycling as a culture, as more
and more urban youths have adopted
cycling culture in the Valley and other
cities like Chitwan, Pokhara, Dharan
and other major city areas.
Besides the lack of cycle lanes,
there is also the problem of roads
being unsafe for cyclists.
The death of cyclist Shyam Sundar
Shreshta, 38, on October 27, 2018, after
his bicycle fell into an open sewer in
Kirtipur made headlines. Nine years
ago, Prahlad Yonzon, one of Nepal’s
leading conservationists, was killed in
a hit-and-run accident while cycling
on the Ring Road, near Kalanki.
The powerful beam of headlights of
vehicles at night also makes cycling
dangerous.
“The number of cyclists has
increased but our roads are not safe,”
said SSP Bhim Prasad Dhakal, chief
of the Metropolitan Traffic Police
Division. “Unlike motorbikes and four
wheelers, we hardly get reports of
cyclists being involved in accidents,
but we have been getting complaints
from cyclists falling in drains and
open manholes at night.”
Despite the government’s indiffer-
ence, cycle activists have not given
up hope.
“With the pandemic, people have
taken to cycling for health concerns,
and slowly this will become a habit
among people,” said Shreshta. “Such a
development will put pressure on the
government to work on cycle-friendly
infrastructure.”
Professional musician Ranjitkar
knows that the Covid-19 has hit all
hard and there are problems for easy
and safe mobility.
“One thing will surely change
because many people will now start to
ride bicycles as this is the safest mode
of transportation in these unsafe
times, “ he said. “But the government
now must think of making roads safe
for cyclists.”
C M Y K