Kathmandu, July 12: Contractors are demanding that the government pay them Rs 60 billion that they are owed, threatening to protest if the money isn’t paid by the end of this fiscal year.
At a press conference on Thursday, contractors expressed frustration over the government’s failure to pay for development projects. “The government has been delaying payments for the past two years,” said Roshan Dahal, general secretary of the Federation of Contractors’ Associations of Nepal (FCAN).
With just one week left in the fiscal year, the government has frozen its accounts since Monday. Recently, the government transferred only Rs 15 billion to contractors, even though infrastructure ministries had requested Rs 35 billion. Contractors are still waiting for the funds due to various technical problems.
The FCAN reported that the government owes Rs 40 billion to contractors under the 13th amendment to the Public Procurement Regulations, and another Rs 20 billion for ongoing projects.
Dahal mentioned that the Ministry of Finance (MoF) has not provided additional funds, citing that it cannot release money to projects without confirmed financial sources. Additionally, government rules prevent budget transfers in the first three months of the fiscal year, so contractors may not see any payments until mid-October of the next fiscal year (FY 2024/25).
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