Contractor Claims Grew 4.7 Times. The State's Pushback Barely Moved.

Total claims filed against state projects at NEPCA rose from Rs 122.62 crore in FY 2077/78 to Rs 578.14 crore in FY 2080/81 — a 4.7-fold increase in four years. Over the same period, the state paid out Rs 541 crore in awards to contractors. State counterclaims — the government's own demands filed against contractors — totaled just Rs 262 crore across all five years, less than 19 percent of what was claimed against it.