Rautahat, January 2

It has come to the light that Garuda Municipality, Rautahat, has paid consumers’ committees for three bridges that have not been constructed.

Three bridges were to be constructed at a cost of Rs 9 million that was sent by the federal government to three different places in the municipality. Not even a single bridge, however, has been built. The municipality, though, has already paid the committees saying that all the three bridges had been completed.

Nine million rupees was sent by the federal government for bridge construction last fiscal. In line with the budget, three consumers’ committees were formed to build three small cemented bridges at wards 1 and 6. The municipality has given Rs 3 million to each committee stating that all three bridges were completed.

The municipality had paid Rs 3 million to each of the three committees on 13 July  2018 saying that they had constructed a bridge each at Jayanagar tole, Lamaha Nahar and Pothityahi of Garuda Municipality.

Locals charged Mayor Innu Ray of paying for bridges that had not been constructed though payment should have been made after monitoring the project upon completion.

Ward No 4 Chair Chunchun Sah alleged that Mayor Ray had distributed money arbitrarily by forming committees of people close to him.

Garuda Municipality Chief administrative officer Tekraj Panthi said he was not stationed at the municipality when the payments were made. “Payments for the bridges were made before I came here,” said Panthi, adding, “The payments were erroneous.” He said he wanted the bank accounts of the committees blocked as full payment had been made even before the construction work started.