Bhattarai-led govt ‘violated rules’ to allocate funds to road projects

KATHMANDU, JUN 17 -
The Baburam Bhattarai-led government distributed around Rs 1.75 billion to regional road projects (district road s) in violation of the rules, it has been revealed.

Sources at the Department of Roads said the resources were allocated to over 200 road projects “under political pressure” right before the formation of the current government.

As per the existing budget ceiling for regional road s, the road department can provide up to Rs 900,000 per year per project. But, the road department provided Rs 42 million to Dumra-Maharajgunj-Hardauna road project in Kapilvastu; Rs 20 million to Charikot-Kalinchowk Road; and Rs 17.5 million to Rabi-Madhumalla-Urlabari Road in Jhapa. These are only some examples.

Road department officials have suspected the resources given to the projects exceeding the ceiling could have been misused. According to the sources, the department allocates Rs 700,000 to district road s connecting business hubs within a district, and Rs 900,000 to road s that link two districts.

However, even the road s that were not included in the government’s red book, which incorporates proposed financing to each project, were allocated the budget, they said.

Former Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun and former Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hridayesh Tripathi “played a vital role” in releasing the funds to district road s through the road department, one of the sources said.

Tripathi admitted that the budget was transferred to regional road projects exceeding the ceiling, but he said the funds were only provided to the projects facing resource crunch. “The money saved from other projects was transferred to the regional road projects,” he said. Regional road s get relatively lower budget as they are second priority (P2) projects.

Officials at the Physical Infrastructure Ministry said it is normal to see political leaders pressuring for the allocation of the budget for projects they want. “Allocation of resources based on political pressure has been a normal trend and problem for years no matter what party is in the power,” said a high-level official at the Physical Infrastructure Ministry. “This nepotism affects the government’s plans and priorities as resources are limited.”

While regional road s got budget in excess of the ceiling, the Strategic Road Network (SRN) is facing budget crunch for repair and maintenance. SRN covers around 15,000 km highway and feeder road s. Due to the lack of resources, the condition of highways is getting poorer because periodic, specific maintenance and road rehabilitation work that are vital to keep road s smooth does not receive proper government attention.

Labels: National News