After assuming charge as the Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development, Kulman Ghisingh's priority was to deal with sick contracts. With the intention of completing projects that had not progressed for years despite repeated extensions of time, he had instructed the concerned bodies to terminate such contracts and take them to a new process.

One example of this is the Sunkoshi-Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project. During the tenure of Energy Minister Ghising, the largest 

national pride Sunkoshi-Marine Diversion dam construction contract has been terminated. There are currently 215 contracts under the department. Of these, 33 are sick and 16 have been terminated, said Mitra Baral, Director General of the department. The process of terminating 6 is in the final stage.

‘In the other 11 contracts, some have been given time till Chaitra and some till Jestha,’ said Baral, ‘But we have now imposed fines on such contracts and made them work.’ He said that if the work is not completed within the stipulated time, there is no option but to terminate it. 15 contracts managed by the then People’s Embankment Office, Mahottari and under Sunkoshi-Marine have been terminated. The department has stated that the process of terminating 6 contracts under Babai Irrigation was initiated by issuing notices on 30 October. 

‘The department is operating irrigation and water resources projects, and 6 national pride projects related to irrigation are ongoing,’ Baral said, ‘In total, 33 contracts are not progressing as expected, there are various problems in not making the expected progress.’ 

Some contracts are in the process of being extended and construction entrepreneurs have been fined for projects that have not progressed despite repeated extensions.

According to the department, 1 out of 8 contracts under the national pride Ranijamara Kulariya Irrigation Project, 1 out of 4 contracts under the Bheri Babai Diversion Multipurpose Project, and 1 out of 2 contracts under the Brihat Dang Valley Irrigation Project are sick. The department has stated that 1 out of 6 ongoing contracts under the Bagmati Irrigation Project in Sarlahi, 6 related to river control under various districts and 1 under the Terai Madhesh Underground Water Irrigation Program in Jhapa are sick.

‘Some have been given a final extension, if work is not done within that time, we will move forward with the process of terminating them,’ Baral said, ‘There are reasons why the construction work could not be completed on time, some faced problems due to floods and landslides, and construction was also delayed due to Covid, due to which the deadline of some projects had to be extended.’ He said that the process of terminating the contract is in the final stage as there has been no progress in the construction of the canal under the Babai Irrigation Project and work has not been done even after the extension.

‘The contract for Sunkoshi Marin has been terminated, how much work has been done in it,’ Baral said, ‘We will see how much work has been completed and how much work needs to be done again.’ The cost of the contract will differ between the contract that was done at the time and the one being done now. ‘We estimate the cost and allocate the work that has been done so far, and we prepare an estimate of how much it will cost to do the remaining work,’ he said, ‘This is a project that is of interest to everyone, and the evaluation work is now in the process of being completed.’ He said that a new contract will be called after completing all these works within one and a half months.

Patel-Raman JV won the contract for the dam on the banks of the Koshi on 17 Poush 2079 with a deadline of 54 months. Even though it was a joint contract, the work was being done by Raman Construction. The work should have been completed by Bhadra 2084. ‘However, only 11 percent of the work was completed after 61 percent of the time. Even after so much time, there was no progress, so we asked how it could be completed now. Accordingly, we have reached the point of terminating the contract,’ said Baral, ‘The construction contractor was constructing the headworks after completing the work of the coffer dam, but the expected progress could not be made due to the floods in Roshi and Koshi.’ 

Baral said that the coffer dam can be repaired and put into operation. ‘The time and cost of the new construction are being seriously reviewed. Earlier, 54 months were given.’ He said, ‘However, the work could not be completed within the stipulated time. The camp, crusher plant, lab, and coffer dam have been constructed by the pre-construction contractor. That work will not have to be done again.’ He said that at least two years more time should be added. ‘Now we will move forward with the work at a fast pace,’ he said. ‘We will start the work by awarding the contract as per the rules.’