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Sub-committees to be set up for onsite inspection of roads
The Parliamentary Development Committee has decided to from a sub-committee in each of the proposed seven provinces for onsite inspection of roads.The Parliamentary Development Committee has decided to from a sub-committee in each of the proposed seven provinces for onsite inspection of roads.
The committee’s chair Rabindra Adhikari told a meeting on Tuesday that the sub-committees would be formed with technical support from National Vigilance Centre (NVC). It also directed the NVC to appoint a focal person to work in coordination with the House committee. “Each of the sub-committees will get technical support from NVC,” said Adhikari. “We will start forming the sub-committees from tomorrow (Wednesday) and they will start working immediately.”
The sub-committees will assess and inspect the quality of completed road projects and progress of under-construction ones. After carrying out the monitoring, they will submit reports to the House committee. The House committee, according to
Adhikari, decided to form the sub-committees following complaints from its members about low-quality of roads and delay in completion of major projects.
“We will appoint coordinators of the sub-committees after holding talks with senior leaders of major political parties,” said Adhikari.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Lawmaker Ram Kumar Bhattarai asked Dhana Bahadur Tamang, secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and Devendra Karki, director general of the Department of Roads, whether they were aware of the bad condition of the Kalanki-Nagdhunga road section. “If condition of the road in the Capital is so poor, we can imagine how bad the situation could be in remote areas,” he said.
Although the meeting was called to discuss the progress of Rasuwagadi road, Pokhara-Beni-Jomsom-Korola road, Karnali Corridor, Chainpur-Taklakot road and Postal Highway, a majority of the lawmakers spent time criticising the concerned authorities’ failure to address poor state of roads inside the Kathmandu Valley.
Karki complained about the shortage of human resources at the road department, terming it as one of the major reasons for the delay in completion of road projects. “The number of engineers at the department is same as it was more than two decades ago,” said Karki. “The number of road projects, however, has increased by around six folds. Under such a condition, how are we supposed to complete the given task on time?”
The House committee also directed the government, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, and the Department of Roads to address the shortage of human resources by hiring employees on contract basis or through permanent placement.