Janakpurdham, Asar 23 – Dozens of infrastructure projects contracted under the fiscal year 2081/82 by various government offices — including the Infrastructure Development Office, Tourism Office, Federal Urban Development Office, Irrigation Development Unit, Social Development Unit, Physical Infrastructure Division, and Janakpurdham Sub-Metropolitan Office — are now stuck due to a lack of payments.
Despite completion of construction within the stipulated time, the payment process has come to a halt because consumer committees and construction contractors have failed to submit necessary documents — including payment applications, bills, receipts, monitoring reports, evaluation forms, and project completion details — to the concerned offices on time.
Offices Facing Protests and Lockdowns
The delay in payments has sparked outrage among contractors and project stakeholders, resulting in protest actions such as office lockouts, verbal abuse of officials, and disruption of services. In some areas, blame games have escalated between consumer committees and contractors, further complicating the situation.
Signs of Financial Irregularities
Observers have raised concerns that the widespread failure to submit documents on time may indicate underlying financial mismanagement. Deliberate delays are suspected to be tactics to cover up substandard work, hide project flaws, or attempt duplicate billing.
Risk of Budget Freeze
Without timely submission of documents, neither can the project completion be validated nor the payments processed. This delay may prevent the allocated budget for the current fiscal year from being utilized. According to office heads, failure to receive the required paperwork within the deadline will automatically disqualify the projects from payment — impacting future project proposals as well.
Strict Warnings from Authorities
Concerned offices have reiterated a clear message: “Completing construction is not enough. Submitting complete documentation on time is the responsibility of all parties involved.”
Authorities have announced stricter monitoring measures going forward. Consumer committees, contractors, and supervising engineers will now be held personally accountable.
Public Appeal for Timely Action
In a final public appeal, the concerned offices have called upon all involved stakeholders — including consumer committees, contractors, supervision teams, and ward-level monitoring committees — to submit all required documents promptly. “Failure to do so may result in project cancellation. Successful implementation of development plans is a shared responsibility,” the appeal concluded.
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