Four basic hospitals under construction in Khotang district have been left unfinished, years after the federal government launched a nationwide hospital-building drive.

The four hospitals are among 396 facilities whose foundations were laid across the country on November 30, 2020, by then prime minister KP Sharma Oli. Most of the projects were intended to expand basic healthcare services in rural municipalities.

In Kepilasgadhi Rural Municipality, construction of the basic hospital in Baksila has stalled after the contractor failed to complete the project within the agreed timeframe.

The municipality signed a Rs125.06 million contract with Bibash International Construction and Suppliers Pvt Ltd on November 25, 2021, with a deadline of around one and a half years. The deadline was later extended by one year, after the contractor failed to complete the work. Even after five written reminders, the contractor did not resume construction, prompting the municipality to publish a notice, seeking a written explanation.

Municipality chair Samir Rai said the local unit subsequently wrote to the bank, seeking recovery of the advance payment guarantee. The bank returned a guarantee worth Rs11.1 million. The contractor challenged the move at the High Court in Patan on July 18, 2025, but the court dismissed the case.

The contractor later sought arbitration through the temporary bench of the Biratnagar-based High Court in Okhaldhunga. An arbitration panel has since been formed, and the dispute remains under consideration, Rai said. Physical progress on the hospital stands at 60 percent, while financial progress is 56 percent.

Construction of another basic hospital in Kharpa of Rawa Besi Rural Municipality has also stalled. Mahadev Khimti Anjana Rujan JV signed a Rs75.75 million contract on July 2, 2021, with a two-year completion deadline. But only 15 percent of the physical work has been completed

Only the foundation pillars of the building have been erected, and construction has since stopped. Rural municipality chair Phatik Kumar Shrestha said repeated requests to the contractor had produced no result.

Dhruba Shrestha, who is involved in the project, said construction was delayed because the design had to be revised. He said work would resume soon.

The 15-bed municipal hospital under construction in Halesi has likewise been left incomplete. The project, funded by the federal government at Rs119.92 million excluding VAT, was awarded to Namuna Himalayan JV of Biratnagar.

The contractor signed the agreement on July 22, 2021, with a deadline of two years. The deadline has since been extended several times. The Halesi Tuwachung municipal executive approved a third extension, giving the contractor until July 23, 2026, to complete the work. Municipal spokesperson Kamal Giri said preparations were now under way for a fourth extension.

Only the base-level pillars have been erected. About Rs40 million, or roughly 34 percent of the contract value, has been paid so far, according to municipal accounts officer Nawa Raj Katawal. The amount was paid against the contractor’s first running bill. No further payments have been made since construction stalled.

After repeated warnings failed to get the contractor to resume work, Halesi Tuwachung mayor Bimala Rai seized contractor Ramesh Basnet’s Suzuki car. The vehicle was handed over to the Area Police Office in Halesi the same day after the district administration was notified. Currently, it remains in police custody.

Rai said she took the vehicle into custody after repeated warnings failed to move the contractor. Following the action, the contractor committed to resume construction from March 26, complete the casement-cover slab within 45 days, and finish other works within 60 days. The vehicle was to be returned once visible progress was made. But construction has still not resumed.

Residents had donated nine ropanis of land (one ropani equals 0.0509 hectares) free of charge for the hospital. Prakash Chandra Giri, one of the donors, said residents had given the land in the hope that the facility would provide much-needed healthcare in Halesi, a major pilgrimage destination.

“It is disappointing that the hospital has still not been built,” Giri said, noting that Halesi has long lacked a hospital despite attracting large numbers of visitors.

Construction of another 15-bed basic hospital at Chisapani bazar in Jantedhunga Rural Municipality-5 has also stalled. The project was supposed to be completed three years ago.

Dragon-Riyar JV signed a Rs207.1 million contract on July 9, 2021, with a one-year completion deadline. But only 33 percent of the physical work has been completed, according to Khem Bahadur Khadka, vice chair of the rural municipality. The contractor has received Rs64.91 million in payments.

The hospital consists of two blocks, but neither has been completed, Khadka said.

The project deadline has been extended five times. Although the contractor carried out some work during the latest extension recently, construction has been completely halted since April.

Khadka said the municipal executive decided at its meeting not to grant any further extension after the contractor failed to resume work.

The rural municipality also ordered the contractor to demolish some completed structures after inspections found that substandard gravel and sand had been used. The municipal executive ordered the defective work to be removed and rebuilt to the required standard after inspectors found quarry sand mixed into the PCC foundation concrete.

Devraj Pandey, who is involved in the construction, said some foundation work was demolished after quality problems were identified.

Pandey said two revisions to the project’s detailed project report (DPR) delayed the start of construction by a year, changed the scope of work and increased the project cost by about Rs30 million. The lack of a bridge at Phoksingtar and the Gen Z protests further disrupted construction.

He said all necessary materials had now reached the site and the project could be completed within a year if work proceeds as planned.

Residents had donated five ropanis of land for the hospital.

Meanwhile, two other basic hospitals whose foundations were laid during the same nationwide campaign, in Aiselukharka and Sakela rural municipalities, are being prepared to begin operations, according to San Bahadur Rai, chief of the District Coordination Committee in Khotang.