After a prolonged impasse, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Mayor Balendra Shah has called an executive committee meeting of the metropolis for Friday—marking the first such meeting since December 23, 2024.

The meeting comes following a months-long stalemate between Mayor Shah and Chief Administrative Officer Saroj Guragain, triggered by a dispute over the approval process of the building design for the Kathmandu Tower project at the Old Bus Park.

The project was controversially approved without an environment impact assessment (EIA), increasing the permitted height from 12 to 19 storeys, prompting Shah to refuse to sit with Guragain.

Due to the ongoing conflict, KMC has failed to unveil and endorse its annual policy and budget, despite a constitutional deadline requiring their presentation before Ashad 10 (July 24 this year).

Amid rising pressure, Mayor Shah, Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, and executive members held discussions on Thursday, where they agreed to convene the long-overdue meeting.

As per the agreement, Shah has scheduled two key meetings on Friday. As per the understanding, a meeting of the resource estimation and ceiling determination committee will take place at 11 am and the full executive committee meeting will start at 2 pm. These meetings are expected to set the groundwork for the upcoming fiscal year’s policies and budget of the metropolis.

According to Section 17 (1) of the Local Government Operation Act, 2017, the executive committee must meet at least once a month. However, members had to submit formal memorandums to the mayor on March 23 and May 26, urging him to resume meetings.

KMC’s Assistant Spokesperson Dhruba Kafle said Guragain has yet to designate an acting administrative officer.

Nonetheless, Mayor Shah’s press coordinator Surendra Bajgain stated the meeting has been called in line with legal procedures. “Whether the chief administrative officer attends or not is up to him,” he said.

Guragain confirmed that he had been informed about the meeting and plans to attend it.