Kathmandu. The local governments have hoped that the government should help in rebuilding the physical infrastructure damaged by the Genji movement.
Representatives of local levels expressed this expectation in the 11th meeting of the Inter-Governmental Financial Council held at the Ministry of Finance today. The 11th meeting of the Inter-Government Financial Council was held under the chairmanship of Finance Minister Rameshwor Khanal in the presence of Council members and other invitees.
At the beginning of the meeting, Chief of Financial Federal Coordination Division of the Ministry of Finance, Sevantak Pokharel welcomed the participants and shed light on the objectives and agenda of the meeting. In the program of implementation of fiscal federalism, the implementation of budget and projects by the federal, provincial and local levels, settlement of disputes related to the implementation of taxes, the accounting method of revenue and expenditure and its reporting system, the management of human resources and the implementation of the third public financial management reform strategy, fiscal discipline, use of the resources of the three levels in the upcoming elections and the upcoming inter-provincial council meeting. He said that the meeting was called to suggest that it should be kept. He also urged the meeting to present the inter-governmental and inter-agency problems surfaced in the implementation of the budget and to reach to a concrete conclusion after holding discussions on them.
Chief Minister and Finance Minister of Madesh province and economic affairs and planning ministers of other provinces as well as Council members and experts put their views regarding the implementation of fiscal federalism. On the occasion, finance ministers of all seven provinces jointly submitted a declaration related to fiscal federalism to the federal finance minister for facilitation in the implementation.
On the occasion, representatives of various municipalities, including the chairperson of the Federation of Municipalities and Rural Municipalities, called for financial equalization grant to be received as per the allocation of grants, for finalizing the legal and procedural issues related to the implementation of fiscal federalism at the earliest, for addressing the contradictions seen in the implementation of various laws, for project management, organizational structure and management and cooperation in the reconstruction of physical infrastructures damaged during the Jenji movement. He presented his opinion.
On the occasion, expert members, secretaries of various ministries, Finance Secretary and Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank responded to the issues raised by the government and expressed the view that they would contribute from their respective areas to strengthen fiscal federalism.
In the meeting, Council Coordinator and Finance Minister Khanal said that arrangements have been made to start some tax-related services provided by the Tax Payers Service Office from the local level, which would help the taxpayers get the services at the local level and increase the revenue capacity of the local level. He also expressed the commitment to fiscal federalism, saying the province and local levels would be independent and responsible in the formulation and implementation of the budget.
