Public Procurement Bill Passed by Parliament

Kathmandu. The proposal to consider the Public Procurement (Second Amendment) Bill 2083 has been passed by the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday.

The proposal to consider, presented by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sobita Gautam on behalf of Prime Minister Balen Shah, has been passed by the House.

In the theoretical discussion held after the proposal was presented by Minister Gautam, National Independent Party MPs Ashish Gajurel, Bishwaraj Pokharel and Parashmani Gelal, Nepali Congress's Prof. Dr. Chandra Mohan Yadav, and from the Communist Party of Nepal, Yuvraj Dulal and Balawati Sharma participated.

Responding to the questions raised during the discussion, Minister Gautam said that the government has brought extensive reforms in the Public Procurement Act to accelerate development construction work and ensure quality.

Minister Gautam also claimed that the situation where projects are left unfinished due to 'low bidding' (minimum bid) will now end.

Stating that time, cost, and quality are the main basis for development projects, she said that removing 'construction irritation' prevalent among citizens is the government's priority.

Minister Gautam stated that the tendency of taking contracts by bidding low amounts but not completing the work on time has created a national problem. 'Low bidding has degraded quality,' she said, 'Now, an average number-based system has been arranged, which will ensure that only those who are strong in both technical and financial aspects will get the contract. This will ensure the quality and timeliness of construction work.'

Informing that the government has decided to establish an 'Infrastructure Court' to solve the problem of large contracts and development projects being stalled for a long time due to court cases, Minister Gautam said that the draft of the related law has been prepared and will be presented in the parliament by next July.

Minister Gautam said that strict legal provisions have been made to make both construction entrepreneurs and government officials more responsible.

Now, it has been arranged that no project contract can be called without completing pre-preparations such as budget assurance, environmental study report approval, and compensation and site clearance (land acquisition).

Responding to the opposition's question that the bill was brought through an ordinance, Minister Gautam argued that results are more important than process. 'There should be no objection to making the process somewhat flexible if citizens get relief and development happens faster,' she said.