Chandragiri Municipality to allocate 3% budget for environmental management

KATHMANDU: The Chandragiri Municipality is preparing to allocate three percent of the total budget for environmental management in the upcoming fiscal year. Chandragiri is the first local level to allocate an adequate budget in the environment sector, it is said.

The municipality has been implementing the Clean Air Project in partnership with the Family Health International (FHI) 360 (FHI) with financial and technical support of the USAID.

During the meeting with the Chief Financial Officer of FHI 360 Rasika Padmaperuma at the municipality today, Mayor Ghanshyam Giri shared that the municipality has taken a policy to allocate three percent budget of the total budget for environmental management.

Briefing CFO Padmaperuma about the municipality’s policy, programmes and activities for clean air promotion, environmental management and air pollution reduction, Mayor Giri mentioned that priority has been given to the climate adaption policy.

Similarly, Chief Administrative Officer of the municipality Hemraj Aryal informed about the education, health and environmental management efforts carried out by the municipality to improve the lives of Chandragiri folks through clean air.

“Evidence-based policies and programmes have been formulated to control and reduce air pollution and such programmes are being implemented. The policies and programmes of the municipality are focused to lessen effects on economic and social life from climate change impacts,” explained Aryal.

Congratulating the municipality for its policy to allocate three percent budget for environmental management, CFO Padmaperuma expressed the belief that the clean air project would help reduce the impacts of climate change on the economic and social sectors.

The activities carried out by the municipality to promote clean air might be replicated to others as well, he shared.

On the occasion, he observed free vehicle emission testing operated by the municipality at Thankot.

Likewise, the Chief of Party, USAID Clean Air, Bhushan Tuladhar, lauded the different activities carried out by the municipality to improve the air quality of the Kathmandu Valley.