Embankment construction halted due to tax dispute

TIKAPUR, FEB 18 -
 
The construction of an embankment at the Rani Jamara and Kulariya Irrigation Project has come to a halt due to a dispute over the collection of sales tax by the District Development Committee (DDC), Kailali.

Arguments flared after the DDC sent two letters to its sales tax collector Tikaram Jaisi containing conflicting instructions. On Dec 20, 2013, the DDC had told Jaisi not to collect sales tax from contractors extracting sand, gravel and boulders from the Karnali River. Two weeks ago, the DDC had written to Jaisi again ordering him to do so.

After getting the second letter, Jaisi took control of an excavator belonging to Kumar Rajendra KS, a construction company, for refusing to pay the sales tax . The excavator was later returned at the direction of the chief district officer.

The contractors digging sand and gravel from the Karnali River said that since they were being used in the construction of an embankment in the same locality, charging sales tax was not acceptable. When the DDC’s sales tax collector Jaisi put pressure on the contractors to pay the dues, they stopped work at the embankment construction site. The agitating contractors said that they would not pay sales tax as there was no mention of it in the construction contract they signed with the District Irrigation Office.  

Abadesh Jha, chief of the Rani Jamara Kulariya Irrigation Project, said that Jaisi had not asked for any sales tax during the last two and a half years the project has been in operation. He added that if they failed to expedite the construction of the embankment, the coming rainy season would destroy whatever has been built so far.

According to the District Irrigation Office, the construction of a 5-km embankment along the Karnali River has reached the final stages. The government has allocated a budget of Rs 260.7 million for the project. The embankment construction is being carried out in four packages.

The locals of the project area are hopeful that the embankment will make them secure from floods. The local people had long been putting pressure on the local authorities to construct an embankment along the Karnali River due to the occurrence of frequent floods. The irrigation office said that the most flood-prone area would get the first priority for construction of embankments.

Source: The Kathmandu Post