Sindhulimadi, June 15

Gorkha Construction, which had been entrusted with the construction of proposed collective shelters for earthquake victims in Sindhuli district, is liable to face investigation over fake certificates presented to vouch for its experience, in the wake of complaints.

Claiming that the company had forged certificates reflecting its good track record by influencing employees with Directorate of Livestock Market Promotio, other companies that had competed in the bidding process have put in complaints with the District Project Implementation Unit under the Urban Development Ministry and District Administration Office, seeking investigation and action against the company.

Earlier, the government had published a notice, informing about the selection of Gorkha Construction to develop collective residences for quake victims in Kapilakot, Dudhauli and Kamalamai municipalities in Sindhuli at a cost of Rs 1.24 million.

“The documents submitted by the company (Gorkha Construction) aren’t genuine as the structure it claims to have made is nowhere to be seen in the country,” said Sirjana Construction Service proprietor and construction entrepreneur Uddhav Dahal.

Besides, Sirjana Construction, Jaya Gorakha Durga Construction, Makalu Construction Service and Mandev Construction Service have jointly filed complaints, saying the professedly constructed structure on the premises of Rupandehi’s Butwal Vegetables Bazaar is only on paper.

Meanwhile, District Project Implementation Unit chief engineer Prabhakarlal Karna lamented the delay caused in the construction of the collective shelter due to the dispute.

“We don’t know for now whether the documents provided by the company are genuine; the thing is the current dispute over the issue is hampering our plan to construct the facility as soon as possible,” said Karna, who, however, clarified that the company selected wouldn’t be spared if found to be at fault.

On his part, Gorkha Construction proprietor Bhaskar Magar tried to put the blame on the directorate. “In fact, we have not done anything wrong. It was out-and-out the fault of the authority that issued us the certificate.

Now due to this we have been implicated,” Magar said, while DLMP chief Balaram Thapa made it clear that the company has not built anything mentioned in the certificate. “Though it was involved in some contract with us back then, it didn’t construct anything as mentioned in the document,” he said.

CDO Tara Bahadur Karki confirmed about the complaint against the company and pledged action following necessary investigation. “If the company is found guilty, we will not only scrap its contract but also do the needful to keep it in the blacklist,” he said.