GAIGHAT, FEBRUARY 3
Construction of the Gaighat-Diktel road is likely to be delayed again after the court annulled the road project's decision to terminate the contract with the existing contractor and choose another contractor for the early completion of the remaining work.
As the existing contractor failed to complete the project within the deadline, Diktel-Gaighat Road Project Office had broken the contract for the construction of two sections and was preparing to call for new proposals to complete the remaining work. "While we were preparing for a new tender process, Patan High Court issued an order to stop the process, which is why the new tender process has been halted," said project Chief Gopal Khakurel."As the contractor couldn't complete the work even after frequent contract extensions, we had to terminate the contract, but with the court's order, the tender process has been halted,"
Khakurel said, adding that the entrepreneur who had sought court's help to stop the new tender process hadn't come in out contact thus far. "I don't know how the road project will be completed if the existing contractor is out of contact and doesn't bother to complete the work on time and on the other hand the court creates legal hurdles for us to start a new tender process," he wondered.
Citing the contractor's inability to carry out work as per the contract, the road project had decided to terminate the contract with Devnarayan Pawan-Mainachuli-Khampache JV. Against the decision, the contractor had filed an appeal at Patan High Court.
A version of this article appears in the print on February 4, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
