The Kathmandu Valley Mayors’ Forum has requested Finance Minister Barshaman Pun to settle the electricity dues of the local governments up to current fiscal year.

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) had, three months ago, sent a circular along with electricity bill to the local levels to pay the electricity dues.

Reaching the Finance Ministry on Thursday, a delegation led by President of the Kathmandu Valley Mayors’ Forum and Mayor of Lalitpur Metropolitan City, Chiribabu Maharjan, urged the Finance Minister Pun for the same.

President Maharjan said they would pay electricity charge from coming fiscal year.

“Let us settle the electricity dues up to the current fiscal year and adopt the ’60/40 arrangement’ from coming fiscal year. There should be an arrangement of bearing 60 per cent electricity charge, of the total electricity charge, by local level and 40 per cent by NEA,” he underlined.

Local levels and Mayors’ Forum of the Kathmandu Valley have been protesting after the NEA sent a circular to the local levels asking them to clear the electricity tariff from 2074 BS.

The delegation members complained that the amount mentioned in the bill was not accurate. He blamed the NEA of making people’s representatives involved in the campaign of making Kathmandu Valley bright and safe disappointed.

Mayor of Chandragiri municipality and Forum General-Secretary Ghanshyam Giri, shared that they were ready to pay electricity tariff from coming fiscal year.

Earlier, the Forum delegation had requested Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet to rethink about the electricity tariff amount of local levels.

Similarly, Finance Minister said they would move ahead holding discussion about the demands put forth by Kathmandu Valley Mayors’ Forum.

He expressed commitment to holding discussion on legal issues as well as amendment to laws in the context of settling electricity dues. The Finance Minister also directed the NEA not to disconnect the power supply of local levels.