Outer Ring Road Project stalled due to opposition by locals and Maoists

[SM Foundation Nepal]

Outer Ring Road Project stalled due to opposition by locals and
Maoists


KATHMANDU, OCT 27 -
Work on the Outer Ring Road Project has remained stalled for nearly a
year. Obstructions created by residents in the project area and the
UCPN (Maoist) with regard to land acquisition don’t look like ending
anytime soon hurting the ambitious government project.

The project has been hamstrung as locals in the Satungal-Chobhar
section of the proposed ring road have refused to give up their land
with the backing of the Maoist-affiliated Newa Mukti Morcha. The
government had started the project five years ago. But not even a
single track of the proposed road has been opened.

“Work regarding the project has been completed stopped for the last
one year,” said Kamal Raj Pandey, joint secretary at the Ministry of
Physical Planning and Works. “We need the support of at least 51
percent of the locals for land acquisition, however, only 13 percent
of them have supported us so far.” According to the Urban Development
Act 1988, there should be at least 51 percent approval from the
landowners while acquiring land.

The Maoists have been saying that construction of such a road network
would increase the influx of people into the Kathmandu Valley which is
already overcrowded. And this is also not a good time for starting
such a project when the state is about to implement federalism, said
the UCPN (Maoist). Even the local residents showing an interest in the
project have been saying that the track opening should be started only
after the decision on federalism in the country.

The ministry has held a series of meetings with the concerned Maoist
leaders and local residents, but they were inconclusive. The
government had planned to develop the Chobhar-Satungal section of the
72-km outer ring road as a model with six lanes. It would also help to
link the Fast-Track Road with the Kathmandu Valley.

“The ring road project had started five years ago keeping in mind
increasing urbanisation, population and planned settlements on the
outskirts of the valley,” said Suresh Prakash Acharya, a joint
secretary at the ministry. “It is hard to say how many years it will
take now.”

The project has been planning to construct a 50 m wide, six-lane road
along with planned settlements on either side of the road with an 20-
ft wide access road link in most of the places on the outskirts of the
valley. “If this project is delayed, it will affect the transportation
system and systematic city development planning,” said Acharya. “The
project is getting costly every year with the increasing price of land
and construction materials.”

According to the ministry, China, donor agencies and even the private
sector are ready to invest in the ring road project. In the last
fiscal year, the government had targeted to open a 6.62-km service
track with a budget allocation of Rs. 1.4 billion. Despite the budget,
no work has been done.


Best regards,
Madhur K Shrestha