Despite the challenges, the government must ensure that the pace at which the project was being built is being met, and that the new process will complete the project ahead of schedule. At the same time, the quality of the project will be ensured. And, in the coming days, methods and standards will be established to ensure that the project is completed within the stipulated time frame.
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Although the government has shown initiative in terminating contracts for projects that have not been completed for a long time and have not shown any progress, it has not been able to ensure their construction as much as possible. Therefore, there is a growing fear that the positive efforts initiated by the government will not yield results and will create more confusion.
If the continuity of construction cannot be ensured for the same stalled project, it can further irritate the potential beneficiaries. The purpose for which the contract was terminated may be counterproductive in itself. Therefore, the government should not consider the process of terminating the contract as its success. Rather, it should ensure that the construction is completed as soon as possible. That too should not be through personal orders or pressure from anyone, but through practical methods. Only then can the delay in project construction work end. Benefits can be obtained on time. That is what strengthens the basis for capital formation and job creation.
The contracts under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development have been terminated in a hurry, saying that the contracts have become unhealthy. So far, out of 235 unhealthy contracts under the Road Department, 35 have been terminated. The amount of the terminated contracts under the Road Department is only Rs 2.97 billion.
Most of the terminated contracts have been taken by construction entrepreneurs in JVs (joint ventures). Similarly, 22 contracts under the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation have been terminated. The total contract amount of these projects is Rs 14.23 billion. Similarly, out of 42 contracts under the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, the termination process for 37 has been initiated. Of these, 3 contracts have been terminated for the construction of health buildings. The contract amount of the terminated buildings is Rs 32.5 million. In total, 60 contracts worth around Rs 16.5 billion have been terminated.
When projects are completed on time, the target group can benefit quickly. With the completion of the construction of roads or bridges, the journey can be short and easy. With the completion of drinking water projects, the community can drink easy and clean water. With the completion of irrigation projects, productivity increases.
When construction work is completed on time, the budget is utilized properly. The state's confidence increases. New budget can be mobilized for other projects. At the same time, the possibility of employment and business increases. People's productivity also increases. When a project is completed on time, trust in the state machinery is awakened, which ultimately instills trust in the state system itself. At that time, it becomes easier for individuals and families to make and implement their own plans.
If a project is not completed on time, all benefits are lost. Anxiety and risk linger around the project site. Disappointment with the working style of the state machinery increases. Individuals and families may flee. That is why it was imperative to terminate contracts for projects that have been in the works for a long time but are not likely to gain momentum immediately. Because it paves the way for a new process to begin. Rather than getting bogged down, it is more appropriate to end the process and start a new one.
It establishes the government's interest, sends a message to construction entrepreneurs that their negligence does not always work, establishes the practice of accountability in the contracting body's work, and instills hope in the public that the construction work of the project will start in a new way and be completed on time. Therefore, there is no room for calling the government's initiative unfair. The focus now should be on ensuring construction as much as possible. All the previous initiatives of the government can only be judged and justified by the assurance of construction. Otherwise, it will be considered short-sighted and immature work.
The government should take into account that the work ahead is more challenging. Only if it realizes that can it move forward successfully. The first challenge is the case that will be filed in court. After the contract for the construction of the Sunkoshi-Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project of national pride was terminated, the construction businessmen have gone to the Supreme Court, dissatisfied.
Others may also go in the coming days. The government should be able to establish a legal basis for the decision to terminate the contract, which is indispensable in democracy and the rule of law. Second, the issue of punishing the contractor. Because, in Sub-section (8) of Section 59 of the Public Procurement Act, it is said that if the contract is terminated and the work is left in the middle, the amount required to complete the work will be recovered from the construction businessmen who took the contract. Even though contracts are being terminated in droves, the issue of recovering from the construction businessmen is challenging.
Third, in order to re-contract, there should be an objective assessment of how much work is left on the projects whose contracts have been terminated and how much budget is needed to complete the construction. Budget should be ensured to proceed with the construction work. Budget assurance is essential, especially in multi-year and liability-creating projects.
This requires inter-agency coordination and agile results. Inter-agency coordination is weak in Nepal. Therefore, there is a strong fear that the contracting process will not start on time and therefore the construction work will not be completed on time. Despite the challenges, the government must ensure that the construction work will be completed through a new process, at the pace at which the construction of the project was progressing, before the expected completion time. At the same time, the quality of the project will also be ensured. And, in the coming days, the method and standard for completing the construction within the specified time will be established.
