Baglung. The construction of the Nisikhola Basic Hospital started four years ago has been in limbo due to lack of budget. The hospital which was supposed to complete the construction in 2080 BS has been in limbo due to lack of adequate budget. The construction of a 10-bed basic hospital at Jhimpa of Nisikhola Rural Municipality-4 had started on February 3, 2021.

The hospital was constructed at the cost of Rs 82.4 million but was completed by Poush 2080 BS. According to Deepak Kumar Adai, chief of Hindung IS÷AC JB Construction, only 80 percent of the work has been completed so far. According to him, the work has been halted for a year due to lack of budget.

He said that there would be no problem in carrying out the work if the municipality could manage Rs 60 million including Rs 11 million to be paid. He said that he was not getting paid for working for a long time. According to him, the hospital would have been completed last year if the rural municipality had managed the budget. The hospital was supposed to be completed last year but the deadline was extended till mid-July last year due to lack of budget. He said that the work will not be possible until the budget is received.

“There is not much work on this hospital now, painting, electrical installation and finishing works are still pending, if there was a budget, the work would have been completed in some time, but the local government has not paid more than millions of rupees so far, more budget is needed.

Chief Administrative Officer of Nisikhola Rural Municipality, Jeevan Pun Magar, said that the works have been in limbo for the lack of Rs 15 million from the federal government. According to him, the local government cannot allocate the budget as it is under the federal government. Pun Magar said that although letters have been sent to the Ministry of Health and Finance for budget management, it has not been received yet. He said that efforts are still being made for the budget.