Chitwan. The Bharatpur Metropolitan City (BMC) has been facing legal hurdles to pay for the construction of the Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium in Bharatpur.

The metropolis has clarified that although the federal government has allocated Rs 150 million, it has not been able to make the payment due to legal hurdles.

Chief Administrative Officer of Bharatpur Metropolitan City, Laxmi Prasad Poudel, said the metropolis has allocated Rs 150 million for purchasing property created by the federal government. According to him, the amount has been allocated under the heading of the purchase of the property and the amount so allocated can be spent only as per the Public Procurement Act.

Chief Administrative Officer Poudel said that it would have been easier to pay the metropolis if the budget was allocated as grant. He further said, “The issue has become complicated as the foundation is not a registered organization under Value Added Tax (VAT) and it has to pay VAT while paying the amount as per the Public Procurement Act.” ”

During the construction, the metropolis had provided money to the foundation in the form of grant. Poudel said that although the KMC itself had made the payment as it had its own resources at that time, the amount received from the federal government could be paid only as per the federal work procedure. He said, “Earlier, the budget could be given to the foundation, why not now? The question is, earlier we had given the grant by making a working procedure from our own resources. Now it’s the federal budget. The payment should be made only according to the federal act, law and procedure. ”

He said that although they have written to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Sports under the federal government to clarify on this issue, they have received a reply that no further opinion is needed from both the organizations. The metropolis had sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance on November 7 seeking further clarification on the issue. The ministry has sent a reply to this on November 24. Similarly, KMC had sent a letter to the Sports Ministry on November 12. The Sports Ministry had responded on November 30.

On the occasion, Bharatpur Metropolitan City Mayor Renu Dahal said she was in consultation with Finance Minister, Secretary and experts regarding difficulties in making payment to the metropolis and said that the metropolis could not make the payment directly. “We want to make the payment as soon as possible, but the legal process is not in place,” he said. Though the metropolis wanted to make the payment at the earliest, it could not be done due to legal hurdles, he added.

Deputy Mayor of KMC, Chitra Sen Adhikari, said that the metropolis was in favour of making payment to the foundation but it could not be done due to the law and act. “The Mayor, I and the CEO are in continuous discussions with the objective of finalizing this issue as soon as possible,” he said. It is not possible to make the payment on the basis of consultation with the officials and experts of the concerned sector. Due to legal hurdles, it is not possible to give only our wishes. “If the metropolis does not want to, we will be sent back to the Ministry of Sports in advance,” he said, adding that they are searching for him. “The metropolis did not say that it has not made the payment, we are looking for the way of payment, I request all not to exaggerate the issue by going against the reality,” he said. ”

The Foundation had handed over the responsibility of constructing the stadium to the metropolis at the request of the metropolis. The Bharatpur Metropolitan City and Bagmati Province government had agreed on Kartik 21, 2080 BS to jointly build the stadium. Following this agreement, the federal government on November 7 decided to promote the stadium as a national pride project.

The KMC has already forwarded the incomplete construction work handed over by the Foundation from Asar 2081 BS. So far, 45 percent of the work has been completed. The foundation has been claiming that it has completed work worth Rs 57.12 crore. Out of this, Rs 18.43 crore is borrowed.

It may be noted that the Foundation had announced to construct the Gautam Buddha International Cricket Stadium in Kathmandu on January 30, 2018. The Foundation and Bharatpur Metropolitan City had signed an agreement for the construction of the stadium. According to the agreement, the KMC has to provide land, the estimated cost of building a stadium on that land is estimated to be three billion rupees, and the Foundation will take cash or kind assistance from the government of Nepal, individuals, organizations and all bodies in and outside the country. The foundation handed it over to the metropolis after it could not manage the finances.

Meanwhile, the Bharatpur Metropolitan City, through a press release today, said certain legal process, criteria, justification and regularity should be fulfilled while making payments to the government bodies from the state’s shared fund. “The issue of paying private liabilities created by private individuals and organizations through government offices using government money is a very sensitive and legally complex issue. ”

Issuing a press release today, Chief Administrative Officer Poudel said that public administrative works should be conducted by scientific method rather than emotional emotion. Stating that the metropolis was concentrating on resolving the problems, the KMC has also appealed to all not to make negative comments and prejudiced opinion public.