The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives has been adjourned after it directed the government not to proceed with the controversial contract process of the Jagadulla Hydropower Project on June 23 due to lack of clarity.

The committee had issued instructions on Jestha 23 not to proceed with the contract without clarifying the complaints that some manufacturing companies were involved in the bidding process by submitting fake documents. 

Sanjay Sapkota, the company's CEO, said that the contract process has been stopped for the time being after the committee's instructions. 'The contract process has been stopped for the time being after the letter sent by the Public Accounts Committee,' Sapkota said, 'We received the committee's decision on Jestha 23. After that, the work was stopped and we are waiting for a new decision as the documents requested by the committee have been submitted.' Lappa Sherpa of Dolpa had filed a complaint with the Accounts Committee alleging irregularities in the project of national importance. 

Meghraj Aryal, a branch officer of the Public Accounts Committee, said that documents related to the contract process of the Jagdulla Hydropower Project are coming. 'The documents requested by the committee are coming, they are yet to be studied,' he said. The Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB) are also investigating the complaint filed by Sino Hydro regarding the contract for the 106-megawatt Jagadulla Hydropower Project to be built in Dolpa. The hearing on the writ filed by Sio Infrastructure and High Himalaya Hydro Construction JV has been postponed to Asad 10. Earlier, the Patan High Court has refused to issue an interim order on the writ filed by Sio Infrastructure and High Himalaya Hydro Construction JV.

A group including advocate Santosh Acharya filed a writ petition on Asad 22 against the Jagadulla Hydropower contract, naming Jagadulla Hydropower Company, ANK Construction Company, Jiangxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation, Ministry of Energy and Public Procurement Monitoring Office as respondents. In the writ petition, a joint bench of Justices Nahakul Subedi and Sunil Kumar Pokharel had refused to issue an interim order on Asad 1. 

On 2081 Jestha 13, Jagadulla Hydropower Company Limited has issued a letter of intent for the contract called for in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) under Civil and Hydro Mechanical. The company has already issued a letter of intent stating that Jiangxi Construction Engineering (Group) Corporation (China) and ANK Construction Nepal JV, which had bid Rs 12.15 billion excluding tax in the financial proposal, are eligible. Sino Hydro had bid Rs 15.7 billion including Value Added Tax (VAT) and Jiangxi and ANK had bid Rs 13.73 billion. There is only a difference of Rs 1.34 billion in the amount bid by these two companies. 

China's Hezhou Shangcheng Electric Power Company informed Jagdulla Company via email on June 20 that it had not issued any certificate confirming the completion of the Shangcheng Hydropower Project and that Jiangxi Construction had used its company name without authorization. The email states that although the 90-megawatt Shangcheng Hydropower Project was to be built, it was canceled due to financial reasons and was not built. "If contracts or funds are obtained using the name or false claims of 'Shangcheng Electric Power Company' or 'Shangcheng Hydropower Station', our company is not involved in it," the email states. "We do not take responsibility for any such activities."

Jagdulla Hydropower Company had issued a notice to open financial proposals on April 20, 2082 stating that Jiangxi and ANK JV and Sino Hydro were qualified. Jiangxi and ANK JV will get the contract after receiving the lowest price from the financial proposals opened on April 24, 2081. The company had called for the contract process for the project again on Magh 6. Sino Hydro, Siu Infrastructure and High Himalaya Hydro Construction JV, Jiangxi and ANK JV, Fewa Construction and TwoMG Insat Medinklak JV had applied. 

Jagdulla Company had called for the contract for the civil and hydro mechanical on Jestha 20. Seven companies including High Himalayan Hydro and AGE Company JV, Sharma and Zhongding International JV, Rail Vikas Nigam, Patel Engineering and Lama Construction JV, Ramechhap Sherpa Construction and Soma Enterprises JV, Sino Hydro, Om Infra and Fewa Construction JV had applied for the contract. But Jagdulla Company claimed that the contract was canceled on Pus 22 after none of the companies passed the technical proposal.

At that time, Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Deepak Khadka was accused of mediating in collusion by giving the contract to High Himalayan Hydro and AGE Company JV by sidelining all the companies that had applied. The matter of the transaction in which the company that won the contract of 16 billion rupees gave 150 million rupees each to four other companies at the rate of one percent each and gave the minister two percent has reached the authority. In the meeting of the House of Representatives on Monday, Energy Minister Khadka said that he did not interfere in the contract process of the Jagadulla Hydropower Project. He also questioned how the ministry would interfere in a place where there is an online system.

‘Since the Jagadulla Hydropower Company itself will handle all the responsibilities and work, the Ministry of Energy does not interfere beyond the necessary, we were interested after various complaints were received,’ he said. He said that he had received information that the company that had bid the lowest among the two companies got the contract and that the procedure was correct. "It is found that the company that did not get the contract intends to get it in the place where it was canceled," he said. "There is no possibility of interference, the company has already made its position clear in various places."