Minister Choudhary laying the foundation stone without accepting the tender and DPR for the 46 crore project in Bara
Simara: Urban Development Minister Metmani Chaudhary is going to lay the foundation stone of a project worth around 46 crores in Bara without completing the detailed project report (DPR) and the tender process.
Minister Chaudhary is going to lay the foundation stones of three schemes for which the legal process of DPR and tender has not been completed on Friday. Minister Chaudhary is going to come to Simara with a team from the Urban Development and Building Department to lay the foundation stone of the project, which is within the Jitpursimara sub-metropolitan city.
Minister Chaudhary is going to lay the foundation stone of the road section connecting Hulaki Highway through Ramauli, Basdilwa, Inarwasira Bazar, Small Matiarwa, Chinimil on Pathalaiya-Birgunj commercial highway with an estimated budget of 35 crores. The said road section is Jitpursimara’s ward no. 8, 19 and 20.
Similarly, Minister Chaudhary will lay the foundation stone of a 6 crore park at Gadhimai Mandir located in Jitpursimara 7, a 5 crore road project from Telecom Chowk in Simara eastward to Bikashshil Chowk, airport border via Rangshala Chowk and airport road from Peepleboat to Bikashshil Chowk.
Under the intensive urban development program, the plan is going to be built with a budget of 50 crore under the multi-year program of the ministry. This year, 17 crores have been allocated for the projects for which DPR has not been approved by the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction.
Kathmandu’s Manisha Engineering Consultant prepared the DPR of the plan after the local elections. The DPR prepared by a consultant at the expense of 17.5 lakh had to be approved by the department and the foundation stone had to be laid only after the tender process was completed after the approval of the department. But Minister Chaudhary has expressed interest in laying the foundation stone of the plan which has not been completed.
According to sources, the foundation stone of the scheme is about to be laid under the pressure of Minister Chaudhary. According to Minister Chaudhary’s wishes, the regional office of the Urban Development and Building Construction Department at Birgunj is preparing for the foundation stone laying. The head of the office, Jhapat Bahadur Thapa, responded that they are about to lay the foundation stone of the plan as per the instructions of the ministry.
But according to the legal provisions, the department has to study whether the rates and details mentioned in the DPR report given by the consultant are correct and accept the said DPR and the contractor selection process has to be done by inviting tenders based on the said DPR.
However, as the foundation stone of the plan is being laid without finalizing the contractor, it has started to be criticized at the local level. Locals say that during the election, rather than hastily laying the foundation stone without fulfilling the legal provisions, it is necessary to complete the process and work for a long time. Locals have expressed their concern that the project will be stalled after the foundation stone is laid because the contractor has not been finalized.
