Auditor General's Report Highlights Issues in Railway Development

Kathmandu. The government's goal of developing a safe and reliable railway transport system in Nepal appears to be moving at a snail's pace. The Auditor General's latest report has raised questions about the performance, budget expenditure, and project management of the Railway Department.

The 63rd annual report published by the Office of the Auditor General has questioned the Railway Department's work style and budget management, citing extreme negligence in railway projects, financial indiscipline, slow physical progress, and unplanned expenditure.

According to the Auditor General's report, the total length of the East-West railway, including link routes, is 1,003 kilometers. The estimated cost to complete this massive project is 9 kharba 55 arba 22 crore rupees. However, years after the project began, the total expenditure to date is only 34 arba 22 crore rupees. This is only 3.58 percent of the total estimated cost. This year, out of the total budget of 2 arba 18 crore 63 lakh rupees allocated to the department, only about half, 1 arba 4 crore 68 lakh, has been spent.

Although the goal is to construct an electric railway track, the physical progress to date is not encouraging. Despite the plan to connect most sections to the railway network by the fiscal year 2081/82, significant progress has not been made in the construction work.

While limited progress has been made in some border sections like Janakpur-Jayanagar and Jogbani-Biratnagar, work has not moved forward in the main East-West section. The completion of only 68 kilometers of track bed and 16 bridges out of the 70 kilometers of the Bardibas-Nijgadh section further confirms the project's sluggishness.

Billions of Rupees Unclaimed

The most serious and objectionable issue raised by the Auditor General's report is the unclaimed billions of rupees sent for compensation. An advance of 8 arba 51 crore 64 lakh rupees was provided to the District Administration Offices of Jhapa, Sunsari, Morang, Dhanusha, Sarlahi, Mahottari, and Rautahat for land acquisition. Out of this amount, only 4 arba 64 crore 66 lakh rupees have been distributed and settled as compensation. The remaining 3 arba 86 crore 97 lakh 63 thousand rupees are still lying in various accounts of different District Administration Offices. The fact that billions of rupees remain outside the government's consolidated fund without any work being done raises serious questions about financial management. Although a large amount of money in the District Administration Offices of Dhanusha, Sunsari, and Jhapa has been deposited in the operating fund, compensation distribution appears uncertain.

Purchase Despite Having Donated Materials

The ballast purchase incident clearly illustrates the extent of negligence in project management. The department purchased 6 thousand cubic meters of ballast from a construction entrepreneur for 2 crore 52 lakh rupees. However, the purchased material remained unused and stored because materials donated by the Indian government were already being used. The Auditor General has described this expenditure, made without identifying needs and disregarding existing stock, as a misuse of government funds.

Key Problems Identified by the Auditor General

The report has detailed the existing problems in the railway project sector. The main problem identified is the lack of a clear investment model, which leaves the future of the project uncertain. Similarly, legal and practical complications in land acquisition and local obstructions and disputes repeatedly halt construction work. The severe shortage of skilled technical manpower required for railway construction in Nepal and the sole reliance on foreign consultants have increased both costs and time.

The delay in obtaining land use rights for forest land and the slowness in tree cutting have further complicated this national pride project. The Auditor General has identified policy errors such as a lack of coordination between the department, the Ministry of Forests, and local administration, and not ensuring the construction site before calling for tenders, as major obstacles.

Auditor General's Suggestions for a Way Out

To overcome these existing problems and steer the railway project in the right direction, the Auditor General has also presented clear suggestions. According to the report, the government must first determine a concrete 'investment modality' to complete this massive project and ensure the budget. Instructions have been given to immediately settle the advance amount of billions of rupees that has been stuck in the District Administration Offices for a long time and deposit the remaining amount into the federal consolidated fund.

It has been suggested that land acquisition and compensation-related disputes should be quickly resolved through direct dialogue with local levels and stakeholders to clear the construction site. Furthermore, the department has been cautioned to prevent damage to the government treasury by ensuring proper storage and timely use of purchased construction materials. The Auditor General's conclusion is that inter-ministerial coordination should be made effective to solve forest land issues and attention should be paid to producing skilled technical manpower.