Koshi Province Government Faces Allegations of Procedural Violations in Project Recommendations
Biratnagar. It has been confirmed that the Koshi Province government bypassed mandatory standards and engaged in 'paperwork manipulation' for multi-billion rupee projects recommended to the federal government for the upcoming fiscal year 2083/84.
On Chaitra 20, Ratopati Online published a report titled 'Suspicion of Paperwork Manipulation in Project Recommendations, Claims of Violating Procedures While Recommending New Projects Worth 2 Billion.' Refuting the report, Vice-Chairman of the Provincial Planning Commission, Taranath Niraula, wrote to Ratopati, claiming his own remarks about missing documents had caused confusion and requested a correction.
However, it has been found that four new projects recommended by the provincial government for matching grants failed to meet the required standards. The Matching Grant Procedure, 2081, mandates that Environmental Study Reports and Detailed Project Reports (DPR) must be submitted during project entry. Yet, letters sent by the Infrastructure Development Offices of Jhapa and Sankhuwasabha to the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development explicitly state that these mandatory documents were missing at the time of recommendation.
A letter from the Infrastructure Development Office, Jhapa, dated Poush 25, 2082, stated: 'Please be informed that the Environmental Study Report for the 10 km road connecting Gauradaha-Gaurigunj-India border is currently in the preparation phase.'
Similarly, the Infrastructure Development Office, Sankhuwasabha, in a letter dated Magh 6, 2082, informed the ministry that the 'Environmental Study Report for the Piluwa Corridor bridge and road construction project is in the preparation phase.'
These letters confirm that the mandatory study reports required by the procedure were absent when the projects were entered into the federal system. Section 7 of the procedure mandates approved environmental reports and DPRs at the time of entry. Claiming a report is 'under preparation' after the recommendation is a direct violation of the 'Matching Grant Procedure, 2081.'
While Jhapa and Sankhuwasabha acknowledged the reports were pending, no such details were available for new projects recommended for Okhaldhunga district, even after requests under the Right to Information.
The provincial government has neither conducted environmental studies for projects over 210 million rupees in Okhaldhunga, such as the 'Likhu-Khijifalate-Bhusing Road' and 'Ramailodanda-Rumjatar Road,' nor could any office provide documentation for them. This strengthens suspicions that the Okhaldhunga projects were included solely due to political pressure.
Of the 22 projects recommended by the Provincial Planning Commission, 13 are new with a total cost of approximately 2 billion rupees. These include four major road projects worth 1.12 billion rupees. Other new projects under special grants include model housing, foot-and-mouth disease control, and various water supply and irrigation schemes.
All 13 new projects fail to meet the mandatory conditions of the 'Special Grant Procedure, 2081' and 'Matching Grant Procedure, 2081.' It is alleged that the Chief Minister's Office itself violated the legal requirement that projects over 100 million rupees must have a DPR and all projects must have an environmental report.
Vice-Chairman Taranath Niraula initially stated during a press conference in the third week of Chaitra that he was searching for the documents, but later requested a correction to his statement.
In his letter, Niraula stated: 'I would like to inform you that all matching and special projects proposed to the federal government cannot be entered into the system without documentation, and decisions made by the Provincial Planning Commission are in accordance with this. I request that you correct the message regarding the lack of documents to avoid further confusion.'
This specific news has been automatically translated by AI. As a result, there may be some inaccuracies or language errors.
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