Half-Dozen Community Buildings Funded by Madhesh Province Government Left Incomplete in Bara

Bara. Half a dozen community buildings constructed with investment from the Madhesh Province Government in Bakuliya, Ward No. 5 of Jeetpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City, have been left abandoned.

Dalit and Janajati buildings, Dharamshalas, wedding halls, and clubhouses, built with investments ranging from 2.5 to 5 million rupees from the provincial government, are stalled due to a lack of budget.

Of these buildings, construction of which began in the fiscal year 2075/076, some only have their foundations laid, while others only have the roof slab cast. Even the completed buildings lack toilet and drinking water facilities.

The buildings, constructed by the provincial government in the same locality without studying the needs of the locals, are unusable.

Pramod Chaudhary, a local resident of Ward No. 5 of Jeetpur Simara, stated that it would have been more appropriate for the provincial government to construct one good building instead of starting four or five community buildings.

“Instead of starting four or five community buildings and leaving them all abandoned, if one good building had been constructed, it would have been properly utilized,” Chaudhary said, “The provincial government built buildings in places where there was no need; we don't even know how many lakhs were spent on them.”

Locals have demanded the speedy completion of the remaining work on the buildings that were started nearly a decade ago and subsequently abandoned.

“They say the work will be completed when the budget arrives next year. Does the budget always come under the same heading?” Chaudhary questioned, adding, “Instead of building four or five and leaving half unfinished, they should have built one good one.”

The provincial government constructed these community buildings through then-Provincial Assembly members Sundar Bik and Sita Gurung of CPN-UML. Uncertainty is growing over how the buildings, which were started only with the objective of exhausting the budget at the end of the fiscal year and were left incomplete, will now be completed.

Another local, Naresh Ram, stated that when the provincial government invests in rural areas, the needs of the locals must be prioritized.

“We gain nothing from building this structure. In the village, many poor children are not going to school due to financial constraints; it would have been better if they could have been educated,” Naresh Ram said, “The provincial, local, and central governments should all work together to invest in education and health in the village.”

Jeetpur Simara Ward No. 5 has 2,568 voters. The ward has 1,150 households, of which over 250 are Dalit homes. The number of impoverished people in the village is also large.

This village faces a shortage of drinking water, and Dalits and the poor are deprived of health and education.

Local Naresh Ram stated that the provincial government should invest in a free health insurance program as many people in the village have died prematurely due to not receiving timely treatment.

Indal Hazra, chairman of the Dalit Consumer Building Construction Committee, stated that work could not be carried out because the provincial government sent the budget at the end of the fiscal year 2075/076.

“When we spoke to the Mayor about completing the abandoned buildings, he said he would arrange the budget, but he did not,” Committee Chairman Hazra said, “The work could have been finished on time, but the then-Ward Chairman Mohit Chaudhary caused us a lot of problems by not providing recommendations.”

Ward Chairman Dipendra Chaudhary stated that the municipality does not have the budget to complete the structures left abandoned by the provincial government. “More than one crore rupees has already been invested, but it has not been properly utilized. It is not possible from the municipality this fiscal year,” Ward Chairman Chaudhary said, “We will try to manage it next year.”

Chaudhary suggested that the provincial government should study the estimated cost when allocating the budget and start the work on time. “The reason all buildings are incomplete is that when the budget is sent at the end of the fiscal year, work has to be rushed, and the amount of work done does not match the funds,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Provincial Assembly member Sundar Bik stated that there was a compulsion to allocate budgets for small schemes to keep party workers happy.

He commented that work would only be completed on time and the budget properly utilized if work commenced promptly, considering the new fiscal year starts in Baisakh.