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The country’s major metropolitans brought their budget for the fiscal year 2023/24 on Sunday. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) presented a budget of Rs 25.54bn, in which Rs 7.34bn has been allocated for the construction and improvement of the public infrastructure within the metropolis. The KMC budget presented by Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol has earmarked Rs 1bn for the ‘dust-free Kathmandu’ campaign. KMC has allocated Rs 70m for solid waste management in the upcoming fiscal year. Additionally, KMC has allocated Rs 3.8bn for the Metropolis Pride Project, focusing on 10 thematic areas. And, Rs 2bn has been earmarked for 25 thematic sector schemes under the Metropolis Golden Project. Lalitpur Metropolitan City (LMC) has unveiled a Rs 6.50bn budget for the next fiscal year. Deputy Mayor Manjila Shakya who presented the budget, said that Rs 4.21bn has been allocated for capital expenditure. Bharatpur Metropolitan City has brought a budget of 6.317bn for the fiscal year 2023/24. Presenting the budget, Deputy Mayor Chitrasen Adhikari said that resources have been allocated for areas such as procurement of disaster materials, proper storage, manpower mobilization, risk reduction program, relief distribution, and rehabilitation. Biratnagar Metropolitan has made public a budget of 3.28bn for the upcoming fiscal year. The budget has allocated Rs 1.65bn for infrastructure development, Rs 852m for social development, and Rs 679.4m for the education sector. Butwal Sub-metropolitan has brought a 2.36bn budget for FY 2023/24. The budget presented by Deputy Mayor Savita Devi Aryal has given priority to social development and infrastructure.

Around three dozen hydropower projects have been worst hit by the recent flood that hit Eastern Nepal last week. The rain and flood of June 16 and 17 in four districts damaged 30 hydropower projects creating a loss of Rs 8.5bn. A preliminary study carried out by Independent Power Producers Association Nepal (IPPAN) shows 30 hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 463 MW were damaged by the floods in Taplejung, Panchthar, Sankhuwasabha, and Bhojpur districts in the third week of June. According to IPPAN, of the 30 projects, 17 were under-construction projects. Among the projects that were already operating, the Lower Hewa Khola sustained the biggest loss. The 22.1 MW project has been the worst hit; it suffered a loss of Rs 1bn due to the flood. IPPAN has claimed that the 25 MW Kabeli B-1 Project suffered damage of Rs 500m. In terms of damage to physical infrastructure, the 4.7 MW Upper Piluwa-2 Hydropower Project has been the worst hit. According to Deepak Khadka, president of Menchiyam Hydropower which developed the Upper Piluwa-2, the project has suffered a loss of Rs 900m. Khadka said that the physical structures such as headworks, pipe alignment, and powerhouse have been completely damaged and it will take more than two years for the reconstruction of the project. The 14.9 MW Hewa Khola Project has suffered a loss of Rs 950m. IPPAN has said that 17 under-construction hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 327 MW suffered losses of over Rs 2bn due to floods. Among the under-construction projects, the most damage was seen in the Super Hewa Khola Project with estimated losses of Rs 800m. The construction work of the Super Hewa Khola Project was 90 percent completed before the flood hit it badly. Harka Bahadur Tamang, chairman of the project, said it will take two years to complete the project now. Similarly, the 97.5 MW Isuwakhola Hydropower Project and 9.7 MW Ingwa Khola Hydropower Project sustained damages of Rs 500mn each. IPPAN is preparing to present the details of the losses to the Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Energy Minister, NRB Governor, and Nepal Insurance Authority Chairman. IPPAN President Ganesh Karki has written a letter to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Friday, seeking time to present the details of damages done by the flood.

The price of gold has increased by Rs 200 per tola in the domestic market on Monday. According to the Federation of Nepal Gold and Silver Dealers’ Association, the precious yellow metal is being traded at Rs 110, 400 per tola today. The gold was traded at Rs 110, 200 per tola on Sunday. Meanwhile, tejabi gold is being traded at Rs 109, 850 per tola. It was traded at Rs 109, 650 per tola. Similarly, the silve is being traded at Rs 1,365 per tola today.

While the country’s imports in Jestha (mid-May to mid-June) hit an 11-month high, the overall imports as well as customs revenue in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year have remained dismal. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 145.65bn in Jestha, the highest on a month-to-month basis, in the current fiscal year. However, there has not been much improvement in revenue collection from the customs duty. As the country’s overall imports took a beating in this fiscal, the revenue collection of the Department of Customs (DoC) has remained below par. The department’s revenue collection has dipped by 23 percent in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year. The Customs Department and Inland Revenue Department are the two major revenue collectors of the federal government. However, both agencies have been continuously collecting revenue below the targets this fiscal. The DoC has collected Rs 344.03bn in revenue till mid-June which is a decline of Rs 102.76bn compared to the same period of the last fiscal. The department had collected Rs 446.79bn in revenue during the first 11 months of the last fiscal year. With the country going through a deeper economic downturn, the demand for goods and services in the market has dwindled as consumers continue to bear the brunt of the slowdown. The imports of high-duty goods such as vehicles have decreased significantly which has affected the revenue of the government. Due to the lack of demand in the market and the low availability of auto loans from banks, automobile dealers are yet to get around 3,000 four-wheelers cleared from various customs yards across the country. The vehicles have been parked at the yards for months, according to the DoC official. The country’s overall imports in this fiscal have dipped by 16 percent. Nepal has imported goods worth Rs 1480.98bn in the first 11 months of this fiscal compared to Rs 1763.22bn during the same period of the last fiscal. The federal government relies on customs revenue heavily. Of the total revenue, the customs revenue accounts for almost 45 percent.