Kathmandu, June 14

The Development Committee of Legislature-Parliament has directed the government to immediately start blacktopping of the roads inside the Ring Road of Kathmandu as per the government’s policy and program of 2016/17.

A meeting of the committee held at Singha Durbar today gave such instruction to the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project, Kathmandu Metropolitan City and the Department of Roads.

The committee also directed the government to blacklist companies that failed to complete their works on time and award those that met their deadlines.

As members of committee raised questions over lack of coordination between government agencies, the committee instructed the Ministry of Urban Development to form a coordination mechanism.

It also instructed the related agencies to hold a meeting between related agencies every three months.

Similarly, the committee directed the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and transport, Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, Kathmandu Valley Road Expansion Project, and Kathmandu Metropolitan City to convey the message of road expansion to the people living in the respective areas and ensure their participation in the projects.

After presentations on the current status of road expansion by respective authorities, parliamentarians from the Kathmandu Valley and committee members discussed the pattern of current road expansion.

During the meeting, lawmaker Ram Bir Manandhar expressed strong dissatisfaction over the current road expansion pattern.

He said the government shouldn’t demolish houses in residential areas. “The government should treat everyone equally and prevent encroachment of river banks,” he said.