Buddha Singh Marg: Millions of budgets, but no pace in construction
लगानी न्यूज
. The construction of the Buddha Singh Marg of strategic importance has begun to connect the rural areas of Tanahun with the district headquarters, agriculture market and Chitwan for a long time. Although the federal, state and local governments are allocating budget for the construction of this road, the pace of the construction is slow.
The federal, provincial and local governments have been presenting Buddha Singh Marg as a model project of strategic importance to connect Tanahun with Chitwan in the mid-hills.TAG_OPEN_div_124 Although the budget has been allocated for years, the construction work has not gained momentum.
Nawaraj Gurung, an orange farmer of Devghat Rural Municipality-2, Lungring said that the Buddha Singh Marg is the main road linking rural areas with the market and the district headquarters.TAG_OPEN_div_122
“This TAG_OPEN_div_120 is the main road connecting the rural areas of Devghat rural municipality which is considered the most remote in the district to the market”, he said, adding, “This is also the main road to transport the oranges produced by us to the market.” Other options are not easy. There is a problem in transportation due to lack of upgradation of the road. ”
The rural area of Devghat Rural Municipality is considered to be the main center of orange production.TAG_OPEN_div_118 According to farmers, the oranges produced annually have to be transported to the market through a circuitous and difficult road.
Yam TAG_OPEN_div_116 Bahadur Ale, a resident of Belbas in Byas Municipality-13 and a leader of the campaign to open the track of the road, said that although it was expected that the road would be developed soon, it could not be completed soon. “At that time, the track was opened as an agricultural route with the expectation of speedy development works. ”
According to him, although this road is important to bring agricultural products produced in various villages of Devghat and Rishing to the market, it has not got the required priority.TAG_OPEN_div_114 “If this road was developed, the food and fruits produced here would get a good market”, he said, adding, “But the settlements are emptying out due to lack of understanding of the problems of farmers.” Now, when the question of this route is raised, the question of transparency is raised. ”
According to Kiran Pariyar, information officer at Agriculture Development Office, Tanahun, orange farming is done in 261 hectares of land in Devghat Rural Municipality.TAG_OPEN_div_112 This area produces 2,672 metric tonnes of oranges annually. “The construction of Buddha Singh Marg would greatly help the farmers in product diversification and market access”, he said, adding, “We hear that budget has been allocated so far, but no progress is seen as per the construction.” ”
Of the total 1,670 hectares of land in Tanahun district, commercial orange farming is done in 977 hectares.TAG_OPEN_div_110 This area produces 11,822 metric tons of oranges annually. The delay in the construction has been a challenge for the farmers even though Buddha Singh Road is the main road to transport the orange from the district’s second largest orange producing area.
This TAG_OPEN_div_107 road is considered important to transport agricultural products and vegetables produced in Rishing Rural Municipality, lower area of Bandipur, various villages of Abukhaireni and settlements of Devghat. According to the locals, it has been difficult to take the patients to the hospital on time due to poor condition of the road. Some of the agricultural products have been wasted as they have not been able to reach the market.
In the current fiscal year TAG_OPEN_div_105 2082÷83, the Gandaki Province government has allocated a budget of Rs 94 million for the upgradation and development of Buddha Singh Marg and its related roads. The budget has been allocated as a multi-year plan by the three tiers of government in different sections.
According to the Annual Development Programme, a budget of Rs. 17.5 million has been allocated under the equalization grant.TAG_OPEN_div_103 The provincial government has allocated Rs 50 million for the first phase of the multi-year plan. The government has allocated Rs 4 million for the upgradation of Bandipur-Tharubas-Pabe-Halthumka-Dandkhola-Buddha Singh road.
A budget of Rs TAG_OPEN_div_101 10 million has been allocated for the Anbukhaireni-Bhange-Chhimkeshwari road and Rs 15 million for the Anbukhaireni-Bhange-Chhimkeshwari-Hilekhkark-Bahanbhanjyang tourism road. According to the stakeholders, although the state government has received a total budget of Rs five crore under various headings, the government has not allocated enough budget for the construction of the main road.
In the past, the project was being operated under the provincial government, but lately the project is being operated under the provincial government. Information Officer of Infrastructure Development Office, Tanahun, Engineer Sushma Pandey, said that lack of budget is the main reason for the delay in the construction.
“We need at least Rs 18 TAG_OPEN_div_97 0 million to Rs 200 million annually,” he said, “But the contractor company has not been able to work at the required pace due to lack of sufficient budget.” According to him, the deadline of the project has already been extended once. The deadline was extended for a fiscal year in Jestha 2082 BS and preparations are underway to extend it again.
} “Last year, around Rs 7 million was yet to be paid”, he said, adding, “Out of the Rs 340 million project, only Rs 20 million has been allocated every year, which will take a long time to complete the construction.” He said that the construction work as per the asphalt design could be completed soon if adequate budget is allocated.
According to local Siddhanta Thapa Garja Magar, although the road has been presented as the state pride and strategic road, the construction work has not progressed at the expected pace.TAG_OPEN_div_93 “Tracks have been opened in some sections”, he said, adding, “However, the upgrading, blacktopping and bridge construction are still incomplete”. Neither the bridge construction nor the road has gained momentum. ”
An agreement has been signed with ‘Mainachuli-Safal JV’ for the blacktopping and upgradation of Buddha Singh Marg at a cost of Rs 342 million 27 lakh 54 thousand 561 under the complementary plan of the federal and Gandaki state governments.TAG_OPEN_div_90
The road, which is being developed as an alternative route to the Prithvi Highway, is expected to significantly reduce the distance from Damauli to Ghumauneghat of Chitwan.TAG_OPEN_div_88 According to locals, the bridge over the Trishuli River will reduce the distance by 25 kilometers from the Mugling-Abukhaireni-Dumre route.
Although small vehicles are plying from Damauli to Ghumauneghat at present, big vehicles are compelled to stop at the border area due to lack of bridge.TAG_OPEN_div_86
Challenges in Financial Management
The fragmented budget system seems to have created challenges in terms of public financial management in Buddha Singh Marg. It has been difficult to keep a unified record of the actual investment as different sections of the same road have been included in the budget under different names.
Citizen-level surveillance has not been effective as the details of the allocated amount, expenditure and physical progress are not made public regularly.TAG_OPEN_div_80 There is also a risk of cost escalation as there is no clear timeline for the completion of the multi-year plan. According to the stakeholders, there is duplication in prioritization and implementation when the budget is allocated separately by the federal, provincial and local levels.
There is a need to make public the annual budget, expenditure and progress details of strategic road projects like Buddha Singh Marg, make the project information system digital, make social audits mandatory, conduct public hearings regularly and implement integrated project management system among all three levels.TAG_OPEN_div_78
work, no speed
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According to the locals, although the track has been opened in some sections of the road, the works of major structures like blacktopping, upgrading and construction of bridges are still incomplete.TAG_OPEN_div_74 The main problem is that even though the budget is allocated every year, the work has not been completed continuously in the same section.
According to Yam Bahadur Ale, a local, the plan will be repeated again and again, the budget will be announced but the final result is not visible.TAG_OPEN_div_72 “If we ask the Infrastructure Office, we get the reply that the works are going on”, he said, “but it seems limited to the initial phase when we reach the site.” The project has been delayed due to incomplete budget and incomplete work. ”
According to the locals, Buddha Singh Marg is an important infrastructure for the expansion of economic activities in southern Tanahun.TAG_OPEN_div_70 It is also important for agricultural production, tourism promotion and expansion of access to historical and religious sites.
The locals of Devghat, Rishing, Bandipur, Abukhaireni and Byas Munities are expected to be directly benefited from the project.TAG_OPEN_div_68 However, the delay in the construction has not brought the expected benefits to agricultural market access, tourism development and the local economy.
According to local entrepreneurs, once the road is fully operational, there is a possibility of production reaching the market sooner, reducing transportation cost and expanding economic activities.TAG_OPEN_div_66 But due to lack of momentum, both consumers and farmers are suffering.
Although millions of rupees are allocated annually for the Buddha Singh Marg, which is linked to the economic, agriculture and tourism development of Tanahun, citizens’ concern is increasing about its effectiveness, financial discipline and transparency.TAG_OPEN_div_64 Locals have also launched pressure campaign to expedite the construction of road and bridge over the Trishuli River at Ghumaune.
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