DIPAYAL, July 11

Years have passed by but dozens of development projects run by the Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction are yet to be completed in Doti, thanks to the lack of effective monitoring.

According to District Technicians Office Chief Rajkaji Shrestha, except for a few, most of the projects have been in a state of limbo for years.

Stakelholders have blamed lack of proper monitoring and negligence on the part of contractors for the delay in completion of projects

“There are dozens of projects which had been stranded for years and though there are some which have been finished after years of lingering, they are in a bad shape,” said Shrestha.

“How can the projects be completed on time when contractors keep on hogging the projects and selling them to other contractors to make profit out of the margin in the cost?” wondered Shrestha.

District Development Committee employees, on their part, complained about the unnecessary leverage exercised by political parties for the extension of contracts time and again.

Regarding the delay in the projects’ completion, Bharat Nepali, Barchhain VDC secretary, suggested the authorities to swing into action and take action against the guilty.

“As the authorities concerned are failing to pay attention, it is natural for the contractors to try to take unnecessary advantage,” Nepali said, adding, “As most of the VDC buildings that were destroyed during the insurgency are yet to be built, the VDCs have no option than to operate from some rented rooms.”

Nepali Congress Doti acting president Ram Prasad Upadhyaya, on his part, suggested action against those contractors who fail to complete the projects by the deadline. He pledged to do the needful on his part.

“Whatever has happened is past, but this year we won’t allow extension of contracts that are going to expire by the end of this fiscal,” he vowed.

As per sources of the District Technicians Office, it has been four years but construction of office buildings in Sanagaun, Lamikhal, Mahadevsthan, Bachhain and Banlek VDCs are yet to be finished.

The office buildings of Barchhain and Ghangal VDCs that have been built are again on the verge of collapse, highlighting lackadaisical approach while constructing them.

With the fiscal year drawing to a close, locals and stakeholders have expressed concerns that the projects would be never completed.