Ghandaki Province Cancels Contract for Sabhung-Deurali-Keladighat Road Upgrade Amid Prolonged Dispute

Tanahun. The contract agreement for the upgradation of the Sabhung-Deurali-Keladighat (Krishna Motor Road) section within Ghiring Rural Municipality in Tanahun has been terminated. The decision to terminate the contract was made by the Gandaki Province Council of Ministers in its meeting on Falgun 14.

The 25-kilometer road upgradation project, funded under the National Rural Transport Strengthening Program through the former District Development Committee Tanahun, was contracted with Santoshi Construction Service Pvt. Ltd., Chitwan, on Baisakh 23, 2073 BS. After the implementation of the provincial structure, the project was transferred to the Infrastructure Development Office, Tanahun.

However, the work remained stalled for a long time due to a dispute concerning the final bill payment. The decision made by the Arbitration Council in this dispute has now been upheld by the High Court. The Supreme Court recently issued its final verdict in this case, which had progressed through the Nepal Arbitration Council, the Patan High Court in Lalitpur, and finally reached the Supreme Court over the past five years.

Ghiring Rural Municipality Chairman, Hombahadur Thapa, informed that the contract had to be terminated because the construction stoppage was affecting the daily commute of local residents as per the decision of the Rural Executive Committee, it was not possible to proceed with the work through alternative contractors, and the situation prevented starting new work while the existing contract remained valid.

According to Chairman Thapa, the termination of the contract has opened the way to advance other alternative road projects. Specifically, it is now possible to issue a tender call for the project worth approximately NPR 40 crore allocated for the seasonal section of the Gaighat-Galyang-Katahared alternative highway. He stated, "It is expected that this decision will restart the road construction process that has been problematic for a long time." Due to the legal case in the court, the budget allocated for that road had also been 'frozen' multiple times. Of that road section, the segment from Deurali to Manpur was blacktopped by the Gandaki Province Government, and the 3.5-kilometer stretch from Manpur to the Ghiring Rural Municipality Office at Pokharichhap was blacktopped using the internal budget of Ghiring Rural Municipality last year.

It was reported that the contractor side is claiming approximately NPR 42,527,417.417 based on the Provincial Economic Procedure and Financial Responsibility Act, 2078, and Regulations, 2079.