Controversial Shailung Construction Company owned by Sharada Prasad Adhikari has won new contract of Melamchi Water Supply Project worth Rs 1.41 billion.
Adhikari, who has rented his house to CPN Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal where his daughter-in-law and Water Supply Minister Beena Magar also lives, has won the new contract for laying pipeline and constructing overhead tank inside Budhanilkantha municipality despite his company being included in the list of defaulting contractors published by Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa last year.
Communication Officer with the Melamchi Water Supply Development Board Milan Kumar Shakya told Setopati that Adhikari's company has won the contract after making the lowest bid. Shailung and Melamchi signed the contract four months ago to complete the works within 30 months.
Shailung has failed to complete many big projects in time. Shailung was in Home Minister Thapa's list of defaulters due to delay in Tripureshwore-Kalanki-Nagdhunga road (9.1 kilometers), Bhaktapur-Nagarkot road (15.5 km), Balaju-Ranipauwa-Trishuli road, Dholahiti-Sunakothi-Chapagaun road, Chabahil-Jorpati-Sankhu road, Jorpati-Sundarijal road among others.
The lowest bidder acquires the contract according to the law but the government has recently started to act tough against defaulters.
The government stopped controversial Pappu Construction from winning the contract for building Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) office after it made the lowest bid of Rs 2.08 billion due to Pappu's delay in building bridges across the country and subsiding of the bridge over Babai river in Jabadighat, Bardiya.
But Shailung has managed to win the Melamchi contract despite its poor record in many projects due to Adhikari's relation with Dahal, and subsequently Water Supply Minister Magar.
