Like many local bodies, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), the biggest and richest metropolis in the country, presented its financial plan for the next fiscal year on Sunday. Allocating a Rs25.54-billion budget, it came up with some impressive plans and policies. While the experts and the public have welcomed those plans, they have doubts whether the plans would be implemented.

The KMC in its annual plans and programmes prioritised infrastructure development, health and education. It allocated Rs7 billion for infrastructure development, which is 29 percent of the total budget, Rs1.3 billion for education, and Rs926 million for health.

The KMC allocated Rs3.8 billion for pride projects under 10 thematic areas and Rs2 billion for projects in 25 thematic areas under its ‘golden plan’.

Among other things, KMC’s Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol announced that she has allocated the necessary budget to brand liquors popular in the local communities, in partnership with the private sector.

The KMC has allocated Rs35 million to make kitchens more hygienic for individuals and businesses. It has also announced a ‘labour bank’ to provide employment for the youths. For this drive, it has allocated Rs100 million. Budget has also been allocated for the methods and systems being deployed to manage garbage.

“I think that it is a lofty goal,” said Dinesh Suwal, 54, a resident of Jhochhen, ward 12 of the KMC, referring to the KMC’s garbage management plan. “Until it materialises, I am not going to believe it.”

Suwal has reasons to doubt the plan’s implementation. Last year, he had complied with the KMC’s order to separate biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste materials at source.

“I bought two 50-litre buckets to segregate solid wastes, but they went with their old ways, picking everything together and loading them in the same trucks,” Suwal said. His ward is among the 12 wards where the KMC had announced it would collect segregated waste, as part of its pilot project.

The KMC has allocated Rs200 million to install CCTV cameras in back alleys. It has also allocated Rs105 million to promote sports in all the 32 wards with the motto ‘one ward, one sport hub.’

Deputy mayor Dangol also announced plans to build a laboratory to test pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables and an affordable pharmacy for the public.

“It’s easy to make a budget plan,” said former deputy mayor of KMC Hari Prabha Khadgi. “What matters is whether it will get implemented.”

She said that while going for market monitoring during her tenure, her inspection team had faced a problem since the KMC didn’t have its own lab. “The deputy mayor’s announcement is a good thing, but again, its implementation is in doubt,” said Khadgi.

Furthermore, the KMC has allocated Rs 100 million for a ‘dust-free Kathmandu’, but it has not laid out any plans on its execution. For the health sector, it has allocated Rs926 million in the budget.

Meanwhile, the urban planners say while the KMC’s intention is good as it has announced some new and creative plans, it should also consider how realistic or implementable they are.

“It’s the KMC’s duty to make Kathmandu a liveable city,” said Suman Meher Shrestha, a senior urban planner.

He said that it’s a good initiative to announce a ‘dust-free Kathmandu’, as the air pollution is rampant in the city. “But what are the plans to achieve that goal? The plans should not be floated just to please the public.”

Like in earlier years, this year, too, the KMC has repeated its plan to restore and maintain historical stone spouts and monuments, and construct falchas (traditional public rest houses) at various public places. Its other plans and programmes include greenery promotion, CCTV installation, women empowerment, erecting street lamps, preservation of tangible and intangible monuments within the KMC area and conservation and promotion of the tourist areas in Kathmandu.