Kathmandu, December 11

The Government of Nepal has warned that it will not be obliged to sanction conditional grants to the local levels, which fail to construct hospital buildings in compliance with the prevailing laws, approved guidelines and standards.

A circular recently issued by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration to 396 local levels in response to a letter of the Ministry of Health and Population stated that some local governments were found to be initiating the process for the construction of hospital buildings in such wards other than the previously selected ones contrary to the prevailing laws, approved guidelines and standards.

“The Government of Nepal will not be obliged to provide conditional grants to the erring local units for the establishment of basic hospital and each local government are directed to abide by the Guideline for Basic Health Service Centre Construction-2020, Guideline for Design and Construction of Health Infrastructure-2020, other prevailing laws and standards to be entitled to the conditional grants,” the MoFAGA quoted the letter of the MoHP.

The Policies and Programmes for the fiscal 2020-21 had stated that five to 15-bed basic hospitals will be established and upgraded at each local level based on their geography and population. As mentioned in the Policies and Programmes, the government has already laid the foundation stone for the construction of health facilities in 396 local units on November 30 simultaneously. Despite groundbreaking of hospital buildings in the designated wards of the 396 local levels, some of them had initiate the construction in the wards other than the selected ones.

Meanwhile, the local governments have been told to invite tender for the construction of hospital buildings by mid-January 2021, while complying with the prevailing laws, guidelines and standards. The Ministry of Finance has allocated seven million rupees for a five-bed hospital, Rs 8.5 million for a 10-bed hospital and Rs 10 million for a 15-bed hospital. The local levels have also  been provided with prototype of the infrastructures to be built by them.

Earlier, the COVID-19 Prevention, Control and Treatment Fund Operation Committee had released one million rupees to each of 649 local units, where any hospital does not exist, for the purpose of the establishment of a five-bed hospital amid coronavirus pandemic.

The local levels have already built the five-bed hospital in line with the COVID-19 Temporary Hospital Operation Guidelines, 2020. According to the MoFAGA, the 649 local levels spent Rs 200,000 per bed from the budget of one million rupees allocated for the establishment of a five-bed temporary hospital. The shortfall amount was borne by the concerned local levels.