The construction of 16 bridges and 54 roads contracted by the infrastructure development offices under the Far Western Province government has not been completed for years, even after the deadline has expired.
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70 physical infrastructure projects under the Far Western Province Government have not been completed even after the contract period expired.
Six years have passed since the agreement was signed to build a bridge connecting Gauriganga Municipality-1 Chaumala Crossroads and Ward 2 Purano Bazaar in Kailali. The Infrastructure Development Office under the provincial government, Kailali, had signed a contract agreement with YP Construction Services for Rs 72.38 million in 2077 Ashar for a period of three years. But the project, which has not been completed yet, is an example of the project being abandoned without completing the work within the stipulated time.
Although the construction company has constructed the span on both sides of the bridge so far, the slab is yet to be constructed. Residents of Ward 1 have to go to the school and health post in Ward 2. Residents of Ward 2 have to commute to the Gauriganga Municipality office, campus, and market in Ward 1. The locals on both sides of the city have been complaining for years that the lack of a bridge has caused suffering, but nothing has been done. Due to the lack of a bridge, people are forced to travel by crossing a three-kilometer roundabout during the rainy season.
The Infrastructure Development Office Achham had awarded a multi-year contract in Asad 2076/077 for the upgradation of the 40-kilometer Martadi-Kolti road in Bajura. The contract for the road was awarded in three different sections, but the project has not been completed yet. Even the two bridges awarded in the same road section have not been constructed.
A contract was awarded to PS Baniya JV for 50 million 16 million 95 thousand to build a 31-kilometer road from Chuthi near Martadi. According to the Infrastructure Development Office Achham, a budget of 20 million has been allocated for the road project in the current fiscal year. But this year the company has not done anything.
The 16 bridges and 54 roads projects that were awarded multi-year contracts by the district-based infrastructure development offices under the Sudurpaschim Province government since 2076 have not been completed even after the expiry of the contract period. A total of Rs 9.96 billion has been spent on those projects, which were awarded contracts worth Rs 11.75 billion and Rs 33.33 billion.
The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development has stated that Rs 622.5 million has been allocated for those projects in the current fiscal year 2082/83. But the ministry says that around Rs 1.16 billion and Rs 9.66 billion are required in the current fiscal year to complete the work. ‘We are instructing the representatives of the contractor companies to complete the work within the stipulated time,’ said Subik Shrestha, spokesperson for the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development. ‘We will make arrangements even if it is by transferring the amount to prevent the budget from being insufficient.’
The offices had invited contracts with an estimate of the cost of those projects to be Rs 16.20 billion. 30 million 27 thousand.’ But the construction companies had reduced the contract by Rs 4.44 billion to Rs 11.75 billion. 33 million 33 thousand. Spokesperson Shrestha says that there is a tendency to reduce the contract and not complete the work within the stipulated time. This is why the number of expired multi-year contracts is increasing in the Far West.
The problem of the provincial government repeatedly allocating budget to old plans but not spending the budget has increased due to the failure to complete old multi-year contracts. This has prevented the provincial government from implementing large and new projects.
Even though the concerned offices have been claiming that the contractor companies have not completed the work within the contract period, they have neither been able to complete the work on time nor have they taken any action . The concerned offices are limited to the formality of sending letters to the companies that do not complete the work .
There are 13 road and 6 road bridge projects in Achham and Bajura districts under the Infrastructure Development Office Achham. Two of them are provincial pride projects . The office has stated that the contracts for 14 of them have not been completed despite repeated extensions. ‘On the one hand, the budget for the construction of the related projects is stagnant in the office, on the other hand, the construction companies are not working in the field,’ says Jang Bahadur Thapa, head of the Infrastructure Development Office Achham, ‘There are 13 road construction contracts in Bajura and Achham under the Infrastructure Development Office Achham. None of the construction companies that have signed contracts for the construction of those roads have been able to complete the work within the specified period .
