Kathmandu. Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Urban Development Kulman Ghising has made public the works carried out in the last 100 days.

During this period, he said, efforts were being made to discourage the hostage-taking of development projects. According to him, the process of breaking the sick contract has been forwarded to end the tendency of not taking projects for years and to provide direct benefit of development to the people.

According to him, 40 sick contracts under the Department of Roads, including the Kankai Bridge of Jhapa which were in limbo for the past 14 years, were terminated during the period. Another 150 patients are in the process of terminating their contracts.

The Sunkoshi Marin Multipurpose Project, a national pride project, which has completed only 10 per cent of the contracts despite 60 per cent of the contracting time, has been terminated with 22 sick contracts under the Department of Water Resources and Irrigation worth Rs 14.22 billion.

4 sick contracts under the Ministry of Urban Development have been terminated. He said that the process for a new contract has already begun with a clear decision not to delay the scrapped projects.

Minister Ghising said that the government has already prepared the investment modality for the construction of the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Reservoir-based Hydropower Project with an estimated investment of Rs 374 billion and sent it to the Ministry of Finance for consensus.

The Upper Arun Hydropower Project with a capacity of 1063 MW with an estimated investment of Rs 213 billion has been sent to the Ministry of Finance for consensus.

“The electricity premium that was to be collected from the industries consuming electricity using the dedicated trunk line structure of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) could not be collected in the past due to political interference,” he said. Due to clear directives and firm decisions, all the industries have started paying the arrears. Even the industries that had entered into installments by agreeing to pay their dues in the past have also paid the installments regularly. ‘

He said that he would not compromise with the structures that do not work, the tendency to not bear responsibility and any activities against the public interest.