- Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Kathmandu, June 24: Around 60 per cent of the total foreign tourists used to visit Nepal’s conservation and reserve areas, according to government statistics.
National parks and conservation areas have become the major tourism destination of tourists visiting Nepal. According to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, total 1.097 million domestic and foreign tourists visited conservation areas in fiscal year 2081/82.
Director General of the Department, Dr Buddhi Sagar Poudel shared that out of 1.097 million tourists– 511,762 tourists were from SAARC countries and abroad while 586,074 were domestic tourists.
The country had collected Rs 1 billion and 5.2 million in revenue as entry fee from the tourists. Total 346,644 tourists visited Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park, 278,113 tourists toured the Annapurna Conservation Area, and 249,956 tourists visited Chitwan National Park in fiscal year 2081/82.
Similarly, the lowest number of tourists, 229, had visited the Api Nampa Conservation Area during the period, according to the data. There are 13 national parks in Nepal-Chitwan, Bardiya, Langtang, Rara, Banke, Sagarmatha, Shey-Phoksundo, Shivapuri Nagarjun, Makalu Barun, Khaptad, Shuklaphanta, Parsa and Chhayanath.
Similarly, Krishnasar, Kanchanjangha, Manaslu, Gaurishankar and Annapurna and Api Nampa are conservation areas while Dhorpatan Reserve and Koshitappu Wildlife Reserve are reserve areas.
Conservation areas have occupied 23.39 per cent of the country’s total area.
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14- KMC’s street film festival drawing crowds
Kathmandu, June 24: The ‘Film in Every Neighbourhood’ festival has started in Kathmandu. The festival, which began on June 19, will continue until July 10.
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) has started the festival under the Kathmandu Film Festival (KFF). The festival has begun at Khulamanch, Asan, Sundhara area, Bagbazar, Maiti Devi Temple, Khula Chaur, Balaju Bypass, Lagan Tol and Kirtipur Mahavihar.
The festival is organised in collaboration with the Film Development Board, the British Council, Nepal Film Academy and UNESCO.
Ayusha Shrestha, the festival organiser, said that the film festival is being held to promote art and culture as they are a beautiful way to unite people. She mentioned that the festival, which started at Khulamanch, the open-air theatre, has been attracting the masses towards art.
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15- WFP and Lions Clubs International Foundation scale up locally sourced school meals for children in Nepal
Kathmandu, June 24: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF), and World Food Program USA have, on June 23, announced a strategic partnership to scale up home-grown school feeding in Nepal.
This builds on a successful pilot phase that demonstrated how locally sourced meals can improve nutrition, support children’s learning outcomes and strengthen local food systems, according to the WFP.
The collaboration follows a one-year pilot phase completed in 2025, during which LCIF and World Food Program USA jointly invested USD 1 million to support school meals programmes in Nepal, reaching approximately 70,000 children, while strengthening linkages between schools, smallholder farmers, and government systems.
Following this success, the partnership has been expanded for the next one year (2026-2027) with a budget of USD 500k jointly invested by LCIF and WFP USA. WFP aims to reach 70,000 children through reliable school meal system led by the local governments, ensure stable markets for smallholder farmers, and maintain safer kitchens, better menus and stronger supply chains to present a replicable national model for Nepal.
“Mid-day meals play a vital role in improving attendance and learning outcomes and the Home-grown school feeding approach helps ensure these meals are nutritious and locally sourced, creating stable markets for local farmers,” said Choodamani Paudel, Secretary from the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Government of Nepal.
The continued implementation of this partnership will strengthen sustainability, helping the mid‑day meal programme evolve into a more sustainable and locally driven system that contributes to national development priorities, he added.
In Nepal, the partnership directly supports the Government of Nepal’s Midday Meal Programme and contributes to efforts to reduce child malnutrition, improve school attendance and strengthen decentralized service delivery.
Schools are transitioning from externally supplied meals to locally designed menus using ingredients sourced from nearby farmers and cooperatives, improving dietary diversity while supporting rural livelihoods.
“Home-grown school feeding brings together nutrition, education, agriculture, and livelihoods into one powerful platform,” said Mr Riaz Lodhi, WFP Country Director in Nepal. “With the Government’s endorsement of the framework in 2024, this partnership is accelerating the transition to a nationally owned, sustainable programme where community members produce fresh food for schools and their children enjoy hot, nutritious meals. This delivers immediate impact for children while driving long-term development.”
The partnership also invests in safer, more efficient school kitchens – improving ventilation, promoting clean cooking solutions, and strengthening hygiene facilities. These upgrades reduce reliance on firewood, lower emissions, and ensure meals are prepared safely and consistently year-round.
“Hunger relief is one of our global causes, and we believe sustainable solutions begin at the community level,” said Mr. Fabrício Oliveira, LCIF Chairperson. “Through this partnership, we are helping turn service into sustainable impact- ensuring children receive nutritious school meals while empowering local farmers, schools, and communities.”
Lions plays an important role in supporting implementation, bringing volunteer networks and leadership, community roots, and a long‑standing experience in areas including hunger relief, education, health and disaster response. Their presence helps strengthen collaboration with local authorities and communities.
As Nepal continues its transition towards a nationally led school meals system, partnership between the Government of Nepal, WFP and LCIF highlights the importance of linking social protection with local agriculture to build stronger, more resilient food systems.
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17- Every trade should be human rights-friendly: SC Justice Phuyal
Kathmandu, June 24: Supreme Court Justice Hari Prasad Phuyal has said that every business should be run in a human rights-friendly manner.
Addressing the ‘National Dialogue on Business and Human Rights’ organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) today, he stated that the business proprietors should take responsibility for human rights risks arising from business.
“Regulatory bodies should carry out monitoring in a fair and efficiently, and the affected individuals or communities should have a real chance to express themselves and get remediation. If rights are affected, the judiciary must serve as an independent, fair, and effective basis for constitutional protection,” he reminded.
Justice Phuyal said that instead of questioning whether business and human rights are a source of income, we should focus on how economic activities align with the constitution, human dignity, social justice, environmental responsibility and the rule of law.
“Development is about establishing the responsibility of the state and private sector towards human life, other species, the environment and surroundings; industries, businesses, and trade are not exempt from these responsibilities. Profit without accountability and responsibility is no longer possible, and for this purpose, the state must build an effective protective structure,” Justice Phuyal added.
He emphasised that the search for justice should not start only at the courtroom door but must be from the beginning in legal decisions, workplace behaviour, relationships with consumers, initial project studies, environmental assessments, community engagement, and the state’s regulatory practices.
Justice Phuyal believes that the human dimension of development is equally important and that the human dimension is connected to the workers who work daily in industries and their labour rights.
He said that development cannot be sustainable if it fails to balance economic gains with human dignity, and that economic progress separated from social acceptance, rule of law, and fair distribution ultimately needs attention as it can lead to disputes, mistrust, and inequality.
NHRC Chairperson Top Bahadur Magar said that while running a business, one should protect citizens’ rights as well as their right to live. He emphasised that the human rights aspect should be the main focus when running a business.
Dr Deepak Kafle, Secretary of the Ministry of Youth, Labour and Employment, said that businesses should focus on making workplaces human rights-friendly, including issues like safe working conditions, fair wages, respect and social security. He mentioned that the government has created an environment where those going for foreign employment can earn a decent wage and live with respect, and it rescues those who get into trouble.
Secretary Kafle mentioned that the government is planning to introduce the National Youth Act soon and said they will discuss it with all stakeholders to reach a conclusion on it.
Murari Prasad Kharel, the Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission, said that the commission is reviewing reports approved by the federal, provincial, and 753 local levels on business and human rights action plans and that it will also discuss with the concerned parties.
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18- Birgunj metropolis stresses on disaster mgmt, infrastructure development, good governance
Birgunj (Parsa), June 24: The Birgunj Metropolitan City has laid emphasis on infrastructure development, forests and environment, disaster management, economic development, social development and good governance in its policies and programmes for coming fiscal year 2026/27.
Presenting the policies and programmes in the 20th municipal assembly of the metropolitan city today, acting Mayor Imtiyaz Alam shared that a target has been set to transform Birgunj metropolis into a place with good-governance, citizen-centric service system, green and sustainable urban infrastructure, entrepreneurship, centre of investment and economic hub creating opportunities.
The policies and programmes have put forth various programmes including localization of sustainable development goals, modern and quality urban infrastructure development, safe and systematic settlement development, quality enhancement of education and health services, agriculture and enterprises development, investment and tourism promotion, good governance, environment conservation, disaster management, social security and inclusive development as top priorities.
Special emphasis has also been given to internal income growth of metropolitan city, improvement in service delivery through procedural restructuring, technology-friendly administration, development management based on citizen partnership and transparency of public resources.
Acting Mayor Alam mentioned, “Productive agriculture system based on modern technology will be adopted for modernization, classification and commercialization of agriculture sector. He arrangement of providing wheat seeds to farmers at 50 per cent subsidy will be continued to increase productivity of wheat.”
Coordination, collaboration, monitoring and evaluation activities would be continuously accelerated to make student enrollment rate cent percent in the metropolis area.
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19- Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City unveils Rs 1.76 billion budget for FY 2026/27
Nepalgunj, June 24: The Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City has today unveiled its policies, programmes and budget for the fiscal year 2026/27, focussing on promoting agriculture and tourism.
Mayor Prashanta Bista presented the policies, programme and the budget at the 19th municipal assembly of the sub-metropolitan city.
The deputy mayor’s position is vacant in the sub-metropolitan city. It is customary for the deputy-mayor to present the policies, programmes and the budget.
While presenting the policies and programmes, Mayor Bista stated that efforts would be made to establish a twin-city relationship with Ayodhya in India to promote religious tourism, covering historical and cultural areas including the famous Bageshwari Temple and the under-construction 108-feet-tall Hanuman statue.
He emphasised the conservation of local Kanti pond, Water Park, and Rani Pond in the sub-metropolitan area through policies and programmes, and mentioned that the improvement of Futaha Lake and the protection of Dhobi Ghat will be carried forward.
Bista highlighted ensuring the easy availability of irrigation, improved seeds and fertiliser, focusing on establishing organised vegetable and fruit marketing centres, and promoting commercial farming systems like floriculture, collective farming and lease farming to develop the agricultural sector as self-reliant and an attractive profession.
He mentioned that efforts are being continued to map the areas where landless Dalits, landless squatters and unplanned settlers live within the sub-metropolitan city. Mayor Bista added that the municipal education plan has been updated, local curricula and textbooks revised timely, and emphasis placed on school monitoring and supervision for educational governance to develop the sub-metropolitan city as an educational hub.
Apart from this, the policies, programmes, and budget have been formulated, focussing on industry, trade and business, employment and poverty alleviation, health and nutrition, education, women, children and social inclusion, housing, building and settlement development, physical infrastructure and transport, electricity and energy, disaster management and climate change, good governance and service delivery, revenue and resource mobilisation.
On the occasion, Mayor Bista presented the estimates of income and expenditure (budget) of Rs 1 billion 766 million and 483 thousand for the fiscal year 2026/27.
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20- HoR meeting postponed until Friday
Kathmandu, June 24: A meeting of the House of Representatives scheduled for Thursday has been postponed until June 26.
Issuing a notice today, Secretary-General of the Federal Parliament Padam Prasad Pandey shared that Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal called the next meeting of the HoR at 11:00 am on June 26 in accordance with Rule 6 (3) of the HoR Regulations, 2083.
However, the meeting of the National Assembly would take place on its scheduled date, i.e. tomorrow.
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21- RSP general convention: List of 384 candidates of central members made public
Chitwan, June 24: The ongoing first general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) has made public list of 384 persons who have filed candidacies for the post of central members. It is however the first round of name list.
They are vying for 99 posts of central members.
RSP leader in Chitwan Netra Lamichhane informed that among those filing candidacies, 210 are for open category while the assigned number is 64. Similarly, 174 leaders have applying from category of geography. Five central members will be picked from each province.
The candidacy filing unit stated that 18 are from Sudurpachim Province, 20 from Madhes Province, 31 from Lumbini Province, 20 from Koshi Province, 31 from Karnali Province, 27 from Bagmati Province and 27 from Gandaki Province.
With this, the convention delegates have been given time for claim and objection if any, which will follow publishing of the final list.
Lamichhane further informed that once the final names of the candidates are entered into the electronic voting device, the election will be held coming night itself.
Rabi Lamichhane has already been elected unopposed as the party president.
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22- New framework for effective service delivery of Ministers
Kathmandu, June 24: The government has organized the structure of personal secretariat and advisory group to make the performance of ministers effective, result-oriented and thematic-focused.
As per the decision of the Council of Ministers on April 15, arrangements have been made to have a limited number of advisors and necessary employees based on the scope and workload of the ministry concerned.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Environment can appoint a maximum of five advisors, including one salaried person of the special class of the Government of Nepal. Other ministries can have a maximum of three advisors, including one salaried person.
According to Deepa Dahal, press and research expert of Prime Minister Balendra Shah, this arrangement has been made with the aim of utilizing thematic expertise in ministries that require development construction, infrastructure expansion and multidimensional coordination. Out of the five people who can be appointed in those ministries, only one will be salaried and the rest of the advisors will be unpaid, which will not impose any additional financial burden, she said.
“The government’s objective is not to increase the state’s financial liability, but to increase the speed and quality of work by providing necessary expertise to ministries of a complex nature,” Dahal said.
There is a provision for the personal secretariat of the minister and minister of state to have a chief personal secretary, a personal secretary, a coordination, implementation and monitoring officer and a communication and public relations assistant. There is also a provision for the personal secretariat to have an assistant level staff, two light vehicle drivers and two office assistants.
Accordingly, the chief personal secretary will be equivalent to a gazetted second class, while the personal secretary and coordination, implementation and monitoring officer will be equivalent to a gazetted third class. There is an arrangement for communication and public relations assistants and assistant-level employees to be equivalent to a gazetted first class.
According to Dahal, the arrangement is expected to make the policy formulation, program implementation, inter-agency coordination, public communication and monitoring of the ministries more organized.
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23- Biratnagar budget for FY 2026/27 is Rs 3.56 billion
Biratnagar, June 24: Biratnagar Metropolitan City has made public its annual estimates of revenue and expenditure (budget) for the fiscal year 2026/27 here today.
At the 18th session of the Municipal Assembly, Deputy Mayor Shilpa Nirala Karki made the budget public. In the budget it is estimated that the federal government will provide Rs 334.3 million in fiscal equalization grant, Rs 732.9 million in conditional grant towards current and Rs 56 million in conditional grant towards capital, and Rs 1.72 billion in intergovernmental financial transfer from the federal government.
Likewise, the municipal executive aims to collect Rs 30.8 million will from vehicle tax, Rs 40 million from entertainment tax, Rs 60 million from advertisement tax, Rs 679.5 million from real estate registration fee, Rs 153.9 million from value added tax, and Rs 51.3 million from excise duty.
Similarly, the budget estimates that Rs 32.637 million will be spent on economic development, including Rs 4.65 million for agricultural development, Rs 14.25 million for livestock and veterinary, Rs 1.15 million for cooperatives, Rs 6.4 million for entrepreneurship development, Rs 800,000 for consumer protection, Rs 2.147 million for employment promotion, Rs 1.2 million for tourism promotion, Rs 1 million each for public-private partnership, and safe immigration.
It is stated that a total of Rs 2.40 billion will be spent on good governance and institutional development, including Rs 2.40 million for revenue management, Rs 4.7 million for law and justice, Rs 3.28 million for municipal police and traffic management, Rs 4.8 million for information and communications, Rs 6.68 million for information technology, Rs 4.05 million for good governance and service flow, and Rs 3.4 million for social security and registration.
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24- Passports delivered at doorsteps in Lalitpur
Lalitpur, June 24: The District Administration Office (DAO), Lalitpur has delivered 43 units of passports to service seekers at their doorsteps.
The DAO began introduction of home delivery of service in line with the new government’s scheme. The service is enforced with the coordination of postal department since Monday. So far, 43 out of 64 service seekers were provided the official documents at their home address, while remaining documents are under process.
Assistant Chief District Officer Suprabha Khanal Dhungel informed that nearly 1100 passports are issued every month from the office. The number of people willing to receive government service at home is gradually growing. The people, especially from remote areas of the district are benefited with the new scheme.
Irrespective of the new provision in place, the some people are still opt for reaching the government offices to receive the service.
Those getting the official document at home are from Godawari Municipality, Mahalaxmi Municipality and Bagmati Municipality.
Chief of District Postal Office, Rama Pant, informed that the number of people willing to receive government service at home was growing. However, she admitted that the delivery could be slowed owing to resource constraints.
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25- No factions in RSP: PM’s advisor Shah
Chitwan, June 24: Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) leader and Chief Political Advisor to the Prime Minister, Asim Shah, has said that there are no factions in the party.
Talking to reporters at the RSP general convention venue today, he said that the debate of factions has ended after senior leader Balendra Shah stood as the proposer of the party chair himself.”
Shah, who is the coordinator of the Constitution Amendment Task Force, said that the constitution amendment will be carried in accordance with the national consensus. “After preparing the debate paper, we will move forward with it. We will prepare the debate paper on the constitution amendment within 100 days.”
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26- RSP general convention revises election schedule again
Chitwan, June 24: The first general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) which is going on here for that past four days has revised the election schedule. The central election commission made public the revised the schedule.
The final list of the general convention representatives was made public on party’s website, WhatsApp group and convention venue at 5:00 pm.
Election commission chief Bhuwan KC informed that the initial list of the delegates was published earlier at 3:30pm today.
Time for claim and objection to the candidates is set till 5:00pm, while half an hour was allocated for investigation into the objection and complaints.
Anyone willing to withdraw candidacy were given time till 6:00pm, while final list of the candidates is being published soon after. The silence period begins from 6:45pm and the first round of voting kicks off at 8:30pm.
In the first round the election commission had made public the list of 384 candidates for the post of 99 central members.
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27- Birgunj Metropolitan City unveils budget over Rs 4.423 billion
Birgunj (Parsa), June 24: The Birgunj Metropolitan City has unveiled its budget amounting to Rs 4.423 billion for the fiscal year 2026/27.
In today’s meeting of the Municipal Assembly, municipal executive member Jagat Saha on behalf of acting Mayor of Birgunj Metropolitan City, Imitiaz Alam, presented the estimated budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
According to the budget presented, a total amount of around Rs 1.97 billion (44.6 percent) has been allocated towards capital expenditure while Rs 50 million (1.1 percent) towards financial management.
Likewise, Rs 2.403 billion (54.3 percent) has been appropriated towards recurrent expenditure.
The revenue sources include Rs 246 million from the federal financial equalization grant, Rs 2.679 billion from the federal conditional grant, Rs 21.364 million from federal revenue sharing, Rs 35.335 million from the provincial government financial equalization grant, Rs 503.572 million from the provincial conditional grant, and Rs 0.441 million from provincial revenue sharing.
Similarly, the metropolis expects to receive Rs 45.9 million from federal and provincial supplementary special grants, Rs 180 million from local revenue sharing, and Rs 336.65 million from its own income to manage the estimated expenditures.
Earlier, acting Mayor Alam had presented the metropolitan’s annual policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year in the municipal assembly.
The metropolitan city’s policies and programmes for the fiscal year 2083/084 focuses on infrastructure development, forestry and environment, disaster management, economic development, social development, and good governance.
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28- Birendranagar Municipality presents budget of Rs 4.71 billion
Kankrebihar (Surkhet), June 24: Birendranagar Municipality, the capital of Karnali Province, has presented its annual estimates of revenue and expenditure (budget) of Rs 4.71 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2026/27.
At the 19th Municipal Assembly, Deputy Mayor Nilkantha Khanal presented a budget estimate of Rs 4.71 billion 272 thousand for the upcoming fiscal year. This budget is Rs 327 million more than the current fiscal year.
Of the total budget, 64 percent or Rs 3.27 billion has been allocated for development (capital) expenditure and Rs 1.68 billion for current expenditure.
The sources to cover the expenses are Rs 246 million from the federal fiscal equalization grant, Rs 2.67 billion from the federal conditional grant, Rs 213.6 million from the federal revenue sharing, Rs 35.3 million from the provincial government fiscal equalization grant, Rs 503.72 million from the provincial conditional grant, and Rs 4.4 million from the provincial revenue sharing.
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29- RSP general convention: 9 ministers in fray for central members
Kathmandu, June 24: Nine ministers have filed their candidacies for the central members in the ongoing first general convention of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) in Chitwan.
As per the first list made public by the election commission, Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle has filed his candidacy under the open category from Gandaki Province. The candidacy of Minister for Education and Sports, Sashmit Pokharel, is also under the open category.
Foreign Minister Dr Shisir Khanal is also vying under open category, while Minister for Energy, Hydropower and Irrigation, Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, under open category from Bagmati Province. Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Sobita Gautam, is applying for a central member from Bagmati Province.
Minister for Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities, and Social Security, Sita Badi, is applying under category of geography (Karnali Province); Minister for Health and Food Security, Nisha Mehta, under the category of geography (Koshi Province); Minister for Agriculture, Forest and Environment, Gita Chaudhari, under the open category (Sudurpaschim Province); and Minister for Youth, Labour and Employment, Ramji Yadav, under the open category (Madhesi cluster).
Voting process has been forwarded for the central members in the general convention. The initial list made public stated that 384 persons have applied for thee central members.
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30- Lalitpur Metropolitan City unveils Rs 7.48 billion budget for next year
Patan (Lalitpur), June 24: The Lalitpur Metropolitan City has unveiled a budget of Rs 7.48 billion for the upcoming fiscal year 2026/27.
The ninth municipal council held under the chairmanship of deputy mayor Manjali Shakya Bajracharya announced the budget with Rs 3.25 billion under current expenditure and Rs 4.23 billion million under capital expenditure.
The budget presented by deputy mayor Shakya attached emphasis on institutional reinforcement and good governance, sustainable infrastructure and urban development, preservation and promotion of art, culture and heritage, access to basic health services and protection of life, employment-oriented and quality basic education.
Other focus in the budget are gender equality, women empowerment and social inclusion, environmental protection, promotion and development of local cooperatives and enterprises, promotion of cultural and religious tourisms, child and disability-friendly behaviour, youth and sports, disaster risk reduction and rescue, employment promotion and poverty reduction through entrepreneurship development, collaboration with the private sector, NGOs and civil society, citizen-friendly and accountable service delivery and guarantee of safe drinking water to each household.
For executing the activities and mobilizing resources for the next year, the metropolis has estimated the receipt of Rs 1.365 billion from the federal government and Rs 176 billion from the Bagmati Province government. The local government estimates the collection of Rs 3.35 billion from internal revenue.
Rs 1.62 billion is expected to be managed through intergovernmental authority. Deputy mayor Shakya informed that Rs 1.47 billion will be ensured from its reserve.
The metropolis had presented the budget of Rs 7.47 billion last year, of which Rs 3.43 billion (51.2 percent) was spent by the end of this mid-June.
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31- 24 Bangladeshi nationals arrested for illegally staying
Kathmandu, June 24: Nepal Police has arrested 24 Bangladeshi nationals illegally staying in Nepal.
A team deployed from Police Circle Swayambhu arrested the Bangladeshi nationals who were illegally staying in Dallu and Sitapaila areas of Kathmandu Metropolitan City-15. District Police Range Kathmandu Spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar Bhattarai informed that they were arrested for entering Nepal without permanent identity documents, passports and having expired tourist visas.
Police arrested them while they were working in a garment factory in Dallu, Sitapaila and other areas. The arrested persons have been sent to the Department of Immigration Kalikasthan today for necessary legal action.
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32- Concerned agencies urged to complete disaster preparedness work
Kathmandu, June 24: The first meeting of the Monsoon Response Command Post has decided to direct all relevant bodies to effectively implement the ‘Monsoon Preparedness and Response National Action Plan, 2083’ and to report to the Authority monthly in accordance with the action plan.
The meeting held today under the chairmanship of Pradeep Kumar Koirala, Executive Chief of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, has decided to request the Ministry of Home Affairs to direct all 77 District Security Committees to prohibit vehicle operations in potentially vulnerable areas, streams, rivers and national highways and local road networks.
Similarly, the meeting has decided to request the Department of Roads, all seven provinces and all 753 local governments to keep the necessary heavy equipment and divers on standby 24 hours a day to immediately operate the blocked highways/roads, to keep the minimum equipment used in search, rescue and relief in readiness, and to make arrangements to ensure that there is no shortage of food for at least 15 days in the event that the road is blocked and vehicles cannot ply, and to request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take diplomatic initiatives to receive timely advance notice of international disasters.
The meeting has also decided to request the Department to make arrangements to operate the Weather and Flood Forecasting Division of the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology 24 hours a day throughout the monsoon period, to request the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to request the Drone Association, Nepal Association of Rafting Agencies, etc. to collaborate with the private sector, associations, organizations, civil society, etc. to prevent shortage of search and rescue equipment.
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33- Local governments in Rupandehi prioritizes infrastructure, agriculture, education, health, tourism and employment promotion in budgets
Lumbini, June 24: Most of the local governments in Rupandehi district on Wednesday have presented their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year 2026/27, placing emphasis on infrastructure development, agriculture, education, tourism, health, and employment promotion.
Butwal sub-metropolitan city has presented the largest budget (amounting to Rs 3.992 billion) compared to local governments in the district.
The budget unveiled today for the upcoming fiscal year is nearly Rs 640 million bigger than that of current year’s budget. For the current fiscal year 2025/26, a budget of Rs 3.361 billion had been presented.
Adopting the slogan ‘Equality, Dignity and Opportunities, Livable Butwal City,’ the proposed budget is expected to receive Rs 2.922 million from the federal government as equalization grant, Rs 502.5 million as conditional grant (current), Rs 704 million as conditional grant (capital), Rs 9 million as special grant (capital), and Rs 2 million as complementary grant (capital).
Similarly, it is projected to receive Rs 20.36 million as provincial equalization grant, Rs 5.65 million as conditional grant (current), Rs 17.3 million as conditional grant (capital), Rs 15 million as complementary grant (capital), and Rs 2 million as special grant (capital).
Regarding revenue sharing, Rs 194.386 million is expected from the federal government, and Rs 27.561 million from the provincial government.
Tilottama Municipality has announced a budget of Rs 3.05 billion for the upcoming fiscal year. Of the total budget, 920.03 million (30.22 percent) has been earmarked for current expenditure; 1.678 billion (54.91 percent) for capital expenditure, and Rs 45 million (14.72 percent) has been allocated for social security, it is informed.
For financial management, Rs 4.5 million (0.15 percent) has been proposed. The budget estimates revenue of Rs 3.06 million from internal revenue, and 2.69 million rupees from intergovernmental financial transfers, revenue sharing, and cash reserves from federal and provincial governments.
Tilottama’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year is over Rs 13 million rupees compared to the current year’s budget.
Lumbini Cultural Municipality has brought a budget of 1.75 billion for the upcoming fiscal year from Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha.
The municipality has allocated only Rs 733.4 million for this project, prioritizing the construction of administrative buildings, bus parks, and access roads.
Additionally, Rs 90 million has been set aside for the Greater Lumbini Area Development Programme. The budget also prioritizes education reform, local curriculum development, health, social security, and the conservation and development of the Lumbini World Heritage Area.
Sainamaina has tabled a budget of Rs 1.556 billion, laying focus on programmes in agriculture, tourism, infrastructure development, education, health, and employment promotion.
Devdaha’s budget is Rs 1.699 billion placing emphasis on agriculture, tourism, education, health, employment expansion, and physical infrastructure development.
Omsatiya’s budget is Rs 511 million which is prepared based on participation, inclusiveness, social justice, transparency, sustainable development, and good governance. The budget prioritizes education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, employment, environmental protection, and administrative strengthening.
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