Rahughat contractor flees without paying debts
MYAGDI, NOV 07 -
The contractor for the Rahughat Hydropower Project has fled without paying the rent and the bill for food, warehouse and building materials.
The locals have filed complaints at the District Administration Office (DAO) against the contractor Binod Lama of Gorkha Construction and Sochindra Nirman Sewa for the missed payments.
Ranganath Gautam, a resident of Galeshwor, said that Lama had given him a cheque for the outstanding amount but that it had bounced. He had rented his house to be used as a warehouse for the project.
Gautam said Lama had been delaying payment and eventually gave him two cheques, one with number 3572364 drawn on Global Bank and another with number 018862 drawn on Citizens Bank. “When I went to the banks to cash the cheques, the signatures on both the cheques were found to be fake,” said Gautam. Lama owes him Rs 300,000.
Lama is reported to owe Rs 7 million to 12 other people including grocery store owners, grill makers, block manufacturers and the landlords of the houses where the project workers and the office staff live. They have accused him of writing cheques without sufficient balance in his account.
After receiving the complaints, the DAO ordered the Nepal Electricity Authority’s Rahughat Hydroelectricity unit to take necessary action. However, the project authority has shown little interest in pursuing the matter saying that it was something between the local people and the contractor. Kashinath Adhikari, administrative officer at the project’s site office, said that the DAO had asked them to take action. “The project has already made payment to the contractor, and we are not concerned with the deal between the contractor and the locals,” he added.
The DAO is the authority to take action against charges of fraud. But it has not begun proceedings except to write to the project authority to recover the outstanding money from the contractor. The Rahughat Hydropower Project has a capacity of 30 MW.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
