• Committee stresses on need to expedite construction of Postal Highway to improve living standard of people living in southern part of the country

Kathmandu, April 29

Delay in construction of the Postal Highway, which links all 20 districts in the Tarai, highlights the state’s indifferent attitude towards development of the country, the Parliamentary Committee on Development has said.

Although talks on development of the Postal Highway began as early as 1991, concrete step to build the national pride project was taken only in May 2004, when Nepal and India signed an agreement to conduct a study to upgrade roads that link the Postal Highway with various districts in the Tarai.

Since then, only 67.84 km of the road has been blacktopped, says a report prepared by the Development Committee.

“Due to delay in construction, marketplaces along the highway, which previously used to buzz with activities, now look deserted,” says the report.

The Postal Highway, which was previously used by postmen to deliver mails, stretches from east to west and is 975 km long. But to link this highway with various districts in the Tarai, 32 different roads of 817 km in length have to be built.

This means building the highway involves construction of a total of 1,792 km of roads.

Of this stretch, 607 km of the road segment is being built in the first phase with the support of the Indian government.

As per the agreement signed between Nepal and India in January 2010, the southern neighbour is responsible for preparing detailed project report of the first phase of the project, building and upgrading the road, and financing construction of the road project.

The government of Nepal, on the other hand, is responsible for building bridges on the highway.

Nepal is supposed to build 65 bridges in the first phase of the project. Of these bridges, construction of 36 have been completed, 26 are under construction and the procurement process of the remaining three is set to begin in this fiscal year, says the report.

“But road construction has been hit because of problems in land acquisition. This has delayed the process of clearing the right of way — 15 metres on each side of the centreline of the highway — although the agreement says 90 per cent of the land required for the right of way must be acquired before handing over the contact,” says the report, adding, “The blockade on Nepal-India border points, which created shortage of raw materials and petroleum products, also slowed down the pace of construction.”

Besides, carelessness of contractors, which led to termination of contracts, and lack of effectiveness of builders have also delayed the construction of the project, further says the report, urging the government to immediately address these problems.

Another problem faced by the project, as per the report, is delay in allocation of the budget.

The government needs Rs 13.68 billion to complete first phase of works of the highway. Of this amount, Rs eight billion is coming from the Indian government in the form of grant.

“However, the government is yet to arrange the remaining Rs 5.68 billion that is required to complete the first phase of works,” says the report.

Also, the report has recommended that the government initiate the process of preparing the detailed project report for construction of remaining 1,152 km portion of the highway.

“The government must build this segment through its own resources and set a target of completing the construction in the next three years,” the report says, adding, “Development of the highway, which links the districts of Madhes, is highly likely to improve living standard of people living in the southern parts of the country. So, construction of this highway should be expedited.”