JAJARKOT: Officials at the District Technical Office Jajarkot have been accused of demanding kickbacks from service seekers who apply for the disbursement of final installment of development projects in the district.

As Engineers at the office first have to approve the project has been completed, service seekers confided that kickbacks had to be paid  either at the initial phase- during signing of the project- or at the end- while applying for the project completion certificates.

It is for giving the clearance certificate towards the end of the current fiscal year; the officials had been demanding five to 10 per cent commissions depending upon the magnitude of the projects, complained people executing the projects, adding engineers and the accountant of the Technical Office demanded commissions either directly or through the middlemen.

Unless a commission is paid, chief of the Office, Engineer Surya Bahadur Shahi, has been accused of not forwarding the files submitted seeking  project completion certificates.

Jhapra Machhaina Road Construction Users Committee members revealed that they had paid Rs 1,10000.00 to the officials during the project contract, adding the money was demanded as expenses for the engineers.

Dhan Bahadur Shahi, chair of Gopi Khola Dhulakot Irrigation Project Users Committee said that he was compelled to pay Rs 2,00000.00 commission to the engineers and the accountant at the office following the long pending of his application for a clearance certificate.

Shahi added that though he had submitted all the required documents, the accountant of the office demanded the money saying an engineer had refused to sign the certificate. After paying the commission, he promptly received the project completion certificate, said Shahi.

Mun Bahadur Shahi , Secreatery of Lahane Kulo Irrigation Project Users Committee confided that initially he had refused to pay 10 percent commission demanded by the officials, the final payment to be received by the Committee was put on hold. The Rs 5.9 million projects finally received the letter after paying Rs 150,000.00 commissions on July 14, the last day of the current fiscal year, said Shahi.

Users Committee of Pahira Tapta Irrigation Project paid 10 per cent commission to the engineers at the Office by borrowing money from a local merchant to get the clearance certificate, according to the Committee’s chair Lok Bahadur Budha, saying the commission was paid so the final payment would be released.

According to a local journalist Rajendra Karki, though the development works in the villages had not been carried out maintaining standards or not completed, the request for the release of final payment is approved after paying commissions to the officials. However, project executioners who follow the standards while launching projects refuse to give a kickback.

Karki further added that officials are heard to be demanding three percent commission from suspension bridge laying projects, 10 per cent from road construction projects and 6 percent from irrigation projects.

A member of  civil society, Rajendra Bikram Shah, lamented that the malpractices and the abuse of power is rampant though the nation has witnessed a great change and the local level elections held nearly after 20 years.

However, Engineer Shahi dismissed the claim that they had been demanding kickback for approving the final disbursement of the projects. Shahi acknowledged that there has been a delay in the processing of the files submitted by the service seekers owing to the verification process.

Local Development Officer Rudra Prasad Pandey informed that seeking commissions was illegal and anyone demanding money would be punished as per the rules. Pandey added that he was monitoring the Office activities closely, following the complaints.

Though a joint team of the District Development Committee employees and civil society members formed to monitor the development projects in the district had visited the development sites, it had not submitted the reports yet, said Pandey, adding he had suspended the disbursement of the money for the projects which were not fully completed.