The civil contractors of the Rukum Gad Hydropower Project in Sisne Rural Municipality-5 have halted all work since Monday, saying that they have not received payment as per their agreement.

Rapti Hydro and General Construction was awarded the contract for the 5 MW hydropower project while ATC-Kabindra Joint Ventures is working on the civil side.

Parshuram Khadka, the manager of Junction Construction Service and Supplier said that ATC-Kabindra JV has not paid for 17 months.

ATC-Kabindra started work after signing an agreement with Rapti Hydropower Project in May 2018. ATC-Kabindra JV then contracted the work to sub-contractors like Junction Construction Service and Supplier, Harisiddhi Construction and Suppliers and Induman Gharti. They worked till July 2021.

The companies and contractors were tasked with the construction of a reserve tank and intake, pipeline road, and wall, from the dam site to the powerhouse in Bhume Rural Municipality-4.

Despite an agreement from ATC-Kabindra to provide payment based on work and bills twice a month, Khadka said that they have not received payments worth Rs145.66 million.

He said that the three companies and contractors have repeatedly sent a request through the local administration to get their dues. After the measures failed, construction was halted.

Ramchandra Tripathi, programme manager of Rapti Hydro and General Construction said that the protest by affected contractors will delay the project, which is more than 95 percent complete.

"The issue of the amount to be provided by the original contractor to the civil contractor was raised in a discussion. We will facilitate soon," he said.

When trying to get more information on this matter, the representative of the main contractor ATC-Kabindra JV did not respond to questions from the Post.

“They tried to trick us,” said Induman Gharti. “We are in big trouble,” he said. Civil contractors said that they will not allow the project work to proceed until their demands are met.

The work of the Rukum Gad Hydropower Project, which is under construction at a cost of about Rs1 billion, has reached its final stage. The project will start generating electricity by the end of February.