KATHMANDU, July 7: Despite the absence of ships operating in Nepal, there are two government agencies dedicated to the management of ships, resulting in an annual expenditure of over 90 million rupees. These two separate bodies, namely the Waterway Project and the Nepal Shipping Office, have been established under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure.
The Waterway Project, headed by Kuber Nepali at present, comprises a team of technical staff led by a Joint Secretary. The project office is located in Singha Durbar. Prior to Nepali, Binod Mowar served as the project head.
In 2075 BS, former Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli made the decision to establish a separate Nepal Shipping Office in addition to the already existing Waterway Project Office. The Cabinet meeting held on December 24, 2018, approved the establishment of the shipping office. Consequently, on February 14, 2019, former Prime Minister KP Oli inaugurated Nepal Shipping Office in a secluded corner of Lalitpur. However, since its inauguration, the shipping office has not undertaken any ship-related activities. Instead, two years ago, it acquired two expensive vehicles for Rs 14.3 million.
The Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Head of the Waterway Project, Nepali, has clarified that currently there are no operating ships anywhere in Nepal. He mentioned that even prior to the establishment of the Nepal Shipping Office, the Waterway Project was engaged in conducting feasibility studies for ships. Any technical staff associated with the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure are assigned to the Waterway Project. For the fiscal year 2022/23, the government has allocated a budget of Rs 82.9 million for the shipping office and Rs 4.8 million for waterway projects. Nepali, the project head, explained that no capital expenditure has been allocated by the Waterway Project this year; only administrative expenditure has been allocated. However, capital expenditure has been allocated for the shipping office.
As per the 59th report from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), only Rs 19.5 million was utilized for employee salaries and allowances in the shipping office last year. The report reveals that no organization has been registered to oversee the operations of transportation means on rivers within Nepal or the operation of ships outside of Nepal. It further states that although steamers and ferries operate on major rivers such as Koshi and Narayani, as well as various lakes, they fall outside the regulatory purview of Nepal Shipping Office.
In Bhadra (mid-August to mid-September) 2076 BS, following the compulsory retirement of the then registrar Rishiraj Koirala due to the age limit of 58 years, Bipin Rajbhandari assumed the role of the head of the Nepal Shipping Office. However, the office has been grappling with an ongoing staff shortage, despite available vacancies. The office has repeatedly approached the Ministry of Federal Affairs and the Ministry of Physical Development for assistance. Unfortunately, due to a lack of interest among potential employees, the ship office continues to face staffing challenges. Currently, the office employs only 18 personnel, falling short of the total number of required employees.
According to the annual report of the OAG, it has been revealed that during the procurement of five consulting services for the feasibility study of ships in Nepal last year, the administrative expenses of the team leader and other employees exceeded the approved rate. The report emphasizes that the Nepal Shipping Office incurred an additional financial burden of Rs 1,058,000, as the estimated cost escalated to Rs 20,699,000 due to the adoption of an estimated rate higher than the approved rate.