Kathmandu, Dec 16: The government has cancelled 22 long-stalled irrigation contracts, ending years of unfinished work. These include six contracts under the Babai Irrigation Project, 15 under the Janakpurdham Irrigation and Water Resource Management Project in Dhanusha, and one under the Sun Koshi Marin Project.
The total value of the cancelled contracts stands at Rs 14.23 billion. Of this, Rs 176 million belonged to Babai Irrigation, while Rs 1.317 billion was under Janakpurdham’s jurisdiction.
Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Urban Development Minister Kulman Ghising had instructed subordinate agencies to terminate dormant contracts and curb the trend of awarding contracts without timely execution. Following his directive, offices began processing the termination of long-problematic agreements.
Out of 215 ongoing contracts under the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation, 33 were identified as problematic, of which 22 have now been cancelled, according to department Director General Mitra Baral.
The largest terminated contract is the prestigious Sun Koshi Marin Diversion Multipurpose Project. The cancelled contract with construction firm Patel-Raman JV of Janakpurdham-9, Dhanusha, was for civil structures, including the dam (headworks), powerhouse, and supply and installation of hydromechanical equipment like gates. The contract, signed for Rs 14.08 billion including taxes, has now been officially terminated.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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