According to the report, the DoR, including seven various branches of the DoR, spent Rs 180.01 million last year to hire consultants to carry out tasks like feasibility study, structural design and budget estimations on various construction projects even though these tasks could have been carried by its own technical staffs, violating the Public Procurement Act-2007.
According to the Act, no authorities can seek consultancy services for any tasks that can be carried out by it's own staff.
"DoR officials hire consultants for tasks that can be carried out by its existing staff for commission. Most of the time, the consultants are either their friends or relatives. The huge amount spent for consultation service is the result of this connection," said Arjun Jung Thapa, former spokesperson of DoR.
Thapa, who was Deputy Director General of the DoR until two months ago, confessed of irregularities in the DoR during his tenure there. He said that even though the DoR technical staffers are capable of carrying out such assessments, in 50 percent of the construction projects, they hire consultants to make money themselves. Thapa is now at Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).
In 2014, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) had asked the DoR to assign its own staff for such tasks after it became clear the department was spending large sums of money on consultants for basic tasks the DoR itself could carry out. The report suggests that the DoR ignored the orders of the OAG.
However, officials at the DoR responded by saying that a shortage in staff forced them to hire consultants.
The Auditor General's Report also stated that DoR officials have been extending deadlines of contractors who have missed important deadlines instead of taking necessary action.
In response, the Parliament's Development Committee, on Monday, directed the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transportation (MoPIT) and DoR to immediately blacklist the contractors who do not complete the ongoing construction work in a timely manner.
A senior official at DoR also added that "DoR officials not only extended the deadlines but actively lobbied the government to cover cost variations claimed by contractors for their personal commission."
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