Butwal, November 23:

Chiefs of government offices related to construction work here have urged regional administrator Rudra Kumar Shrestha to find a way to end the prevailing gunda raj, which they call ‘mundre system’, in the tender process for different construction works awarded by different government offices.

The officials said many contractors employ hooligans to bag the contract by hook or by crook. Besides, the same powerful contractors who have even got political protection extort money from them. At a meeting of government office chiefs here yesterday, they said the trend of use of force and threats in the tender process had spread all over the country. “The only difference is that there are different groups in power in different places,” said a government official. He said hooliganism has prevented fair competition in the tender process and hooligans employed by mafiosi-type contractors were also threatening the security of officials. Most of the time, such groups do not even allow rival contractors to buy a form to apply for the tender.

One official said long-haired, earring wearing hooligans surrounded his office when he reached there on the day of the opening of a tender. “I barely managed to enter the office. How can I make free decisions under such pressure?” he asked.

The officials urged the regional administrator to arrange a system for central processing of all tenders. Shrestha responded positively. Even after the award of the contract hooliganism exists during its implementation, they said. One official said those awarded with the contract to collect vehicle taxes had been taxing government vehicles many times in a single day. CDO Dhrub Raj Wagle admitted hooliganism rules the tender processing. He said once when there was no security guard in his vehicle, he had to pay Rs 25 vehicle tax without arguing with the contractors even though he had already paid the tax for that particular day. He said he paid it thinking that it would after all go to the government coffers. The meeting was attended by the chiefs of 70 government offices.