KMC taxes payable from Khalti App

Kathmandu, Feb. 11

The online payment service provider company 'Khalti' has added a facility to pay tax to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City via online app from their home.

Taxpayers will be able to pay the taxes of the metropolis like land, house, rent, vehicle, means and business through Khalti.

Binay Khadka, Chief Executive Officer of Khalti, said, "We are confident that it will be easier for the residents of the area to pay their taxes and service charges online at the local level. We also hope that it will be easier and safer to use the service at home during the current COVID-19 pandemic.”

However, taxpayers should first register them at the KMC's taxpayer portal eservice.kathmandu.gov.np to use the online tax payment facility. The app will assess the tax details needed to pay to the KMC.

Khalti has more than 2 million active users throughout the country alongside a network of 30,000 agents, the company said in a statement.

From Khalti, the users can top-up their phone, TV, pay their internet bill, insurance premiums, government revenues, waste management bills and buy domestic flight tickets. 

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 February 2022. 

NRA decides to develop integrated settlements in core city areas

Kathmandu, Feb. 7: The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and two metropolitan cities in the Kathmandu Valley – Kathmandu and Lalitpur - have agreed to develop integrated settlements in the valley by pooling houses. 

A meeting of the three Wednesday afternoon decided to develop a multi-storey, joint-dwelling system in the dense settlements in the core city areas of the two metropolises. 

The meeting was led by NRA Chief Executive Officer Yuba Raj Bhusal, and mayors of Kathmandu and Lalitpur Bidya Sundar Shakya and Chiribabu Maharjan respectively represented their local government in the meeting. 

The meeting took special note on the delay in the reconstruction of the quake-damaged houses in the inner city areas. Due to the narrow alleys and small land sizes, it is troublesome to transport the construction materials in those areas and build a house as it disturbs the neighbours as well as the movement of the people and vehicles. 

Only 20 per cent of the 100,000 houses damaged by the devastating Gorkha Earthquake 2015 have been reconstructed so far, and the construction of the rest of the houses has not begun even after more than two-and-a-half years of the disaster. 

“The delay in the house construction in the two large cities of the country, including the capital, has drawn our concern. Therefore, after consultation with the local governments, we have decided to implement the house pooling system in the cities,” said Bhusal. 

The meeting has formed a 5-member task force, coordinated by the NRA joint-secretary Raju Man Manandhar, to conduct necessary studies. 

According to the NRA, the task force has representatives from the Kathmandu and Lalitpur metropolises and Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), and former Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction Surya Bhakta Sangachhe. 

The task force has the mandate to submit a proposal on the modality for the development of the joint-dwelling system in the densely populated core city areas within 15 days. 

It will recommend the areas feasible for house-pooling and development of integrated settlement.

Although there had been much discussion about developing a joint-dwelling system in the Kathmandu Valley in the past two-and-a-half years, there has been zero progress. 

In the immediate aftermath of the quake, people from the inner-city areas of Kathmadu had urged the government to develop quake-resistant integrated houses as per the house pooling concept. 

They even organised a rally from Itumbahal to the KMC Office, Sundhara and submitted a written application to the office. 

But nothing has happened so far although the KMC had allocated Rs. 10 million for detailed study of the project and the locals pledged full cooperation in the construction of integrated houses and even showed their readiness to bear the full reconstruction cost. 

Published in The Rising Nepal Daily on 8 February 2018. 

KMC to exhibit Nepalese goods in its sister cities

Kathmandu, Feb. 5: The Ministry of Industry (MoI) and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to operate special exhibition and sales outlets of Nepalese goods in 16 cities of various countries with whom the capital city has established sister relations.

Joint secretary of MoI Dinesh Ghimire and executive officer of KMC Rudra Singh Tamang signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations in the presence of Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi and Minister of State at MoI Kanchan Chandra Bade at Singha Durbar.

Tamang said that the Capital city had sister relations with 16 cities of the countries like United States of America, Japan, China, India, Myanmar, Belarus and Korea, and will sign MoUs for more international cities.

According to the MoU, the showroom of Nepalese goods in the sister cities would create competitive and supply chain advantages for Nepalese industries and this could be a milestone for industrial development in Nepal.

"Our products might be included in global supply chain as it exposed to traders and customers. We have cheaper labour cost that could get value proposition in the international market," read the MoU.

As per the agreement, KMC will identify occasional and regular exhibition and sales centres in its sister cities around the world to promote Nepalese products by displaying and selling, and MoI will facilitate the exhibition and sales centres in Nepal for those sister cities of KMC seeking for facilities in Nepal for their products exhibition and sale.

Likewise, the ministry will also perform necessary works to promote Nepalese products when KMC requests for the same.

Minister Joshi said that the exhibition of Nepalese products in various sister cities of KMC would draw attention of international buyers to Nepalese goods.

The Ministry and the KMC also agreed to support new product development, skill development and business startup development programmes targeting to customers of those sister cities.

KMC felicitates Pranab Mukherjee

Kathmandu, Nov. 3

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) felicitated Indian President Pranab Mukherjee amidst a ceremony organised at the City Hall Thursday evening.

On the occasion, KMC chief Rudra Singh Tamang presented the Letter of Felicitation, which mentioned that the friendly visit of President Mukherjee had added a new dimension to the age-old relationship between Nepal and India.

"Apart from the geographical proximity, there are numerous examples that the social, economic and cultural closeness, the existing multidimensional relations at the people's level and our common aspirations for the promotion of mutual interest have benefitted both Nepal and India in multiple sectors," read the letter.

The KMC praised the visiting Indian President as a highly erudite personality in various fields of public and political life, imbued with outstanding intellectual ability, and an experienced, able and learned head of the state, whose leadership had greatly benefitted India.

"The cooperation from neighbouring India is important in Nepal's developmental efforts. We are confident that the centuries-old closeness and mutual benefit will provide fresh impetus to the historical and friendly Nepal-India relations with a view to further consolidating and making them friendlier," the felicitation letter read.

The letter also mentioned that Nepal had been actively moving ahead in the campaign of institutionalising and consolidating the key features of governance – nationality, democracy, republicanism and secularism – as well as making civil life safe and dignified in a just manner by embracing good governance.

It said that people-to-people relations between the two countries have been very unique and everlasting, and the state visit of President Mukherjee would help further develop, strengthen and advance the existing friendly relations.

President Mukherjee thanked the Nepalese people and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal for the civic reception.

Saying that it was a privilege for him to visit the historic and holy city, he said that Kathmandu was a spiritual centre for the people of the entire region.

Recalling the participation of Nepalese people and leaders in the freedom movement of India, he said, "There are no two countries in the world sharing a common culture and having an open border. We have a shared vision of economic prosperity and sustained development for our respective countries and the region."

The Indian President said that his country had always attached high priority to the relations with Nepal and would stand by the latter's development endeavours.

Prime Minister Dahal attended the felicitation ceremony along with Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Hit Raj Pandey, and Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jiban Bahadur Shahi.

Likewise, Minister for Health Gagan Thapa, Minister for Peace and Reconstruction Sita Devi Yadav and Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi, Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae, chief of constitutional bodies, chief of security agencies, representatives of diplomatic missions and high government officials also attended the ceremony.