Kathmandu, July 25 As filling of pits and potholes has been expedited in the Valley following the prime minister’s instruction, road expansion work has come to a complete halt. Authorities blame this on obstructions created by locals, legal hurdles, budget constraints and monsoon, among other things. According to Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, it could not give continuity to road expansion work due to budget constraints. Development Commissioner at KVDA Bhai Kaji Tiwari said the Ministry of Finance was yet to release budget and it had been facing problems making payment to contractors. “The finance ministry has yet to release Rs 300 million allocated to KVDA, while payment of  Rs 757.6 million to contractors is still due. In this situation, how can we continue work?” Tiwari asked. He said KDVA would not be able to resume road expansion work until the finance ministry released budget. While KVDA is facing budgetary problems, Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project is facing multiple problems. It said the court’s stay orders not to demolish houses on the roadside, locals’ obstruction, site clearance problems, among others, were usual problems faced by road widening projects. “Along the 12 km Tripureshwor-Nagdhunga stretch only 2.5 km road does not face any hurdle. The remaining part faces site clearance hurdles,” project chief at Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project Deepak KC said, adding, “Other stretches where road expansion work is under way also face similar problems.” He added that the Tripureshwor-Kalanki, Chabahil-Jorpati-Sankhu, Jorpati-Sundarijal, Lagankhel-Satdobato, Imadol-Siddhipur-Godawari, Karmanasa-Harisiddhi, Dholahiti-Sunakothi-Chapagaun and Nakkhu-Bhaisepati-Bungamati stretches are also facing similar problems. “How can we continue road expansion work without demolishing illegal structures?” asked KC. KVREP, however, said it would begin road expansion work from September after monsoon withdrawal. According to KVDA, of the 600 km roads being widened in Kathmandu Valley only around 350 km roads were widened so far. Although the road widening campaign began from 2011, major road sections in the Valley have yet to be expanded.