June 23, Kathmandu – Despite the government’s presentation of new commitments, the trend of ‘last-minute development’ remains unchanged. This year as well, development projects in Siraha are progressing in the same old fashion. With only a few days left in the fiscal year 2082/083, rapid construction activities such as road paving, drainage installation, temple and pond beautification are being carried out abruptly across various local levels in the district. However, no information or notice boards are found at these construction sites. Most project sites lack the mandatory information boards, making it difficult for locals to access basic details about the project, budget, contractor, and completion timeline.
Under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development of Madhesh Province Government, a 106-meter RCC road in Red Cross area, Ward No. 11, Balkawa of Golbazar Municipality, is under construction with an estimated cost of around 2 million NPR. The road was paved late Saturday night around midnight. According to locals, urgent nighttime paving lacked even the essential reinforcement mesh. Local resident Sheikh Khan said, “There is no information about the consumer committee, budget or the project.” Another resident, Nasim Sheikh, expressed his lack of awareness about the reason for night paving despite suggesting the need to widen the curved part of the road.
In Golbazar Municipality Ward No. 4, locals criticized the rush to utilize the budget before the fiscal year ends. According to local reports, a 120-meter drainage pipe installation from Campus Road to Lumbodar Dahal’s house was done during the nighttime under the Madhesh Province government plan. Ward Chairperson Sakaldev Yadav stated, “A budget allocation of 1 million NPR has been made for road maintenance and upgrading throughout the ward.” However, he referred inquiries about who was awarded the quotation to the municipality office.
In Siraha Municipality Ward No. 7 as well, road RCC paving and drainage works accelerated at the fiscal year’s end. The project awarded to Ayushman Construction Services was contracted for NPR 13,317,428.67 with an agreement to complete by the end of Asar 2083. However, construction only began late in the timeline. The absence of project information boards on-site has raised further suspicion. Youth from Golbazar Municipality Ward No. 8, Shiv Yadav, remarked, “Without notice boards, how does one know what project it is, the budget involved, or who is carrying out the work?” Shekhar Mani Singh, engineer at the Physical Infrastructure Development Office, Siraha, clarified that there is no obligation to conduct construction work at night.
When asked again about the issue, Ward Chairperson Yadav declined to comment. Retired Divisional Engineer Devanath Mahto warned that rushed construction compromises quality. He said, “It is difficult to control quality in work done hastily.” These incidences indicate that even after a change in government, there has been no significant change in the approach to development projects.
