Jan 08, Kathmandu- The third phase of Mahakali irrigation project is a project of national pride. With the aim of speeding up the construction of the project, only 28 km of canals have been built in more than a decade and a half, the project has been placed as a project of national pride. But every year the budget of the project is decreasing.

1.17 billion budget has been allocated for the project in the coming financial year. 1.23 billion budget was allocated in the current financial year. In the next financial year, there are plans to build 28 to 48 kilometers of the main canal, to construct 22 branches of the 28 kilometers of the main canal.

"The project had requested a budget of 2 billion for the coming year. One and a half billion had already been planned and sent. But since the budget is much less than that, it seems that the construction of the main canal and the construction of the branch canal may be affected. "It is a project of national pride, the budget comes in between," said "Rana Bahadur Bam, the director of the project. It was planned to complete the branch canal and 20 km main canal within this year".

The work of the project started in the financial year 063/064. For a few years, the work could not be started due to the compensation dispute, and even then, due to the low budget, the work was done at a very slow pace. Recently, even though the project of national pride has been made, the budget has not been able to come as per the requirement.

The Mahakali Irrigation Project is not only the third phase but another important project in this area is the Mahakali Corridor Road. The road connecting Kanchanpur from Brahmadev to Tinkar is a big project in this area. But due to the low budget, the speed of Mahakali Corridor is also very slow.

Laxman Joshi, head of the Mahakali Corridor Project, said that the budget for the corridor this year was only half of what was requested. According to him, the project had demanded 800 million. But in the budget speech, only 45 crores have been allocated. For the current financial year, the Mahakali Corridor received a budget of 51 crores.

"There was a plan to open tracks and do some up-grading within the next financial year, multi-year contracts have already been signed in some areas," said project chief Joshi, "the plan will be affected when the budget is reduced".

Under the project, out of 425 km from Brahmadev to Tinker, 334 km to Tusharapani in Darchula is being constructed by the project and 91 km from Tusharapani to Tinker is being constructed by the Nepali Army. 450 million has been allocated for both the areas that are being implemented by the army and the projects that are being implemented.

According to the project office, out of 334 tracks, 109 kilometers are yet to be opened. In the coming financial year, contracts have also been signed for 32 kilometers in Darchula and 5.5 kilometers in Dadeldhura. But due to the lack of budget, Joshi says that half of the track opening and black paperwork can be completed within this year. Under the project, 8 km track in Kanchanpur, 31 km in Dadeldhura, 48 km in Baitadi, and 22 km in Darchula are yet to be opened.