I am here to serve the people of Lalitpur: Mayor

First, I plan to complete the projects I had initiated in my first term. 

We have prepared a detailed project report (DPR) to revive the Lotus Ponds (Kamalpokhari) at Lagankhel on the 30 Ropanis of land that we have reclaimed from the Rajdal Battalion of the Nepali Army and the nearby Saptapatal Pond on the 15 Ropanis of land the locals got back from the Namuna Machhindra School through an order of the Supreme Court. 

We plan to restore these ponds as part of our ‘Green and Blue’ initiative. Under this, half of the 45 Ropanis of the land will be used for the ponds and half will be used for greenery. Experts believe that reviving these ponds will restore water flow to the ancient hitis (taps) in the core areas of Patan too.

Another project we are going to take forward is the smart street lights. We have completed phase one and are currently working on phase two to install 1,400 lights from the outer areas to Lagankhel, Jawalakhel and Dhobighat. Work has already been completed in Bungamati and is under way in other areas too.

Under phase three, we plan to put up street lights to make the section of Ring Road that lies within LMC safer. In the 7.9 kilometres of Ring Road that falls within our metropolis, there are two black spots where a frighteningly high number of accidents and deaths occur. One is in Kusunti near the Transport Management Office where 24 people have died to date and the other is in Dhobighat where 34 people have lost their lives. Had this been the case in any other country, the mayor would have been behind bars but here, we didn’t have any role in the construction of that road. It was a project managed by the Chinese and the Nepali governments.

What we have found is that a majority of accidents here occur at night. So, to mitigate this, we are installing street lights under the Design, Build, Operate, Maintain and Handover concept. We are currently in the ‘Design’ phase which will complete in a month and then ‘building’ will begin.

For heritage, a pioneering principle that LMC adopted was the refusal of tenders. Under tenders, the lowest bidder gets the job who then compromises on quality to make a profit. This mutilates the essence of our monuments. I have been against this from day one. 

To prevent environmental degradation and meet the national and international targets of phasing out fossil fuels, we have begun focusing on e-vehicles. My car is electric and the bikes for our City Police are electric too. LMC has also pledged to only purchase electric vehicles as far as possible. 

In regard to this, we also plan to bring four e-buses into operation. These 14-seater buses will ply on the Patan Durbar Square-Mahaboudha-Rudravarna Mahavihar route and will most probably begin service from July 7. We will also offer a 72-hour free ride to tourists which will hopefully make them stay in Patan longer. This free service will be extended to people with disabilities, senior citizens and children younger than eight years old. 

We also have many new plans in our project bank. For example, we have mobilised the contractor to construct 7.9+7.9 kilometres of international-standard dedicated bicycle lanes in the Lalitpur section of the Ring Road. We plan to do this and many more in my second term.

I don’t think so because both she and I are here to develop our city. The difference between us though is that, as the deputy mayor, she has many avenues open to further her political career while I, as someone who has been elected the mayor of a metropolitan city twice, do not. I may have to look for other platforms and destinations.

Having said that, we are all part of the same team here. We have representatives elected from various parties as well as two independents but our common goal is to develop Lalitpur. We have to work together and I firmly believe that they will cooperate with me. 

A few of these criticisms may be justified but most of them are not. In our last term, we formulated a policy to bridge the gap between the core areas which were part of the previous Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan City and the surrounding Village Development Committees (VDC) and the Karyabinayak Municipality which were later merged to form LMC. And under this policy, we have made it a point to allocate more budget to the outer wards than the inner ones. Just to give an example, in the last fiscal year, we provided a budget of Rs. 19 million to the wards here while we gave up to Rs. 32.5 million to the outer wards. However, we cannot give a huge amount at once because then the wards in the core city will protest. “We are also a ward under LMC and so are they. So why should they get a larger budget?” they question. Nevertheless, we have prioritised the outer wards in our budget.

Similarly, the donor agencies like the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the European Union also prefer to design projects for the outer wards than those inside the Ring Road. 

The budget and projects provided by the provincial and federal governments are also more focused on the circumferential regions.

We have to remember that these areas were VDCs not too long ago and were directly brought into a metropolitan city. So, there is bound to be a difference between them and the inner city. But with our policy and practice, I think this gap will be filled by the end of our present five-year tenure.

This has proven quite a headache for us and we have had to hear a lot from the citizens because of this. But the fact is, the law doesn’t give local governments the right to do any work on roads wider than eight metres.

We know the condition of the road and the trouble the people are facing and truly want to do something but if we do, it will be deemed corruption and the money we spend will be unaccounted for turning into arrears. We also cannot order the contractor to work because we are not the employers. 

I met with Honourable Chief Commissioner of the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority Prem Kumar Rai and told him about all this and he said that he would find a way out. A few days ago, when going to Khokana, I again called him and told him that the road could invite misfortune during the rainy season and he said he would look into it. But I don’t know what steps will be taken and when. 

I have also written to the federal government asking it to give LMC jurisdiction over roads wider than eight metres. We have enough financial and human resources to maintain them. Since we are the ones getting blamed for their condition, it’s only fair that we are given authority over them. But I don’t think we will get it.

They are very enthusiastic and energetic and enjoy immense public support. Moreover, Shah is a professional engineer which is important for his position as mayor of Kathmandu. He has the backing of many renowned personalities, too. So, I think he will have a successful tenure.

I met him on Sunday and he told me about his plans to bring 100 e-buses, build 100 public toilets, construct 100 public sheds (Phalcha) and give a budget of Rs. 100 million to the wards.

Concerning the e-buses, I advised him to test a few instead of bringing all hundred at once. Look at my e-car. Because of its low ground clearance, I cannot drive as fast on certain roads. The manufacturer may try to meet your required specifications but we have to test the buses’ suitability to our roads before bringing a large fleet.

I also talked to him about the difficulties of constructing Phalchas. Local levels often don’t have the deeds to the land which makes it extremely difficult to build anything. The people may move the court if we try to build Phalchas on the land near their own. 

Next, a bad track record has made building public toilets an uphill battle. A toilet in one place stinks the whole community. 

I had to strongly assure the locals of our sanitation measures when building toilets at Mangalbazaar and Patandhoka. Fortunately, we have been able to maintain the standards and now, we plan to build similar lavatories in all 29 wards. So, I advised him to start with one toilet first.

We should and I have raised this point with the party too. Through my landslide re-election, the people of Lalitpur have shown that they are happy with my work. I have told the party to send prospective candidates, people who have the potential to work, my way and I will involve them in my activities. 

Yes, you are right. It has not been passed yet. Political polarisation and my lack of majority in the municipal assembly have caused difficulties. All the plans I have included there may not be sanctioned  but still, through this year’s budget, we wish to implement our ‘One House, One Graduate’ programme, continue the anti-pneumonia vaccination drive for senior citizens and implement our Nepal Bhasa curriculum from the Early Childhood Development (ECD) level to Grade 3. We also have programmes to train small- and medium-scale entrepreneurs and invest in their businesses.

What I would like to stress is that everything I do, I do for the happiness of Lalitpur’s residents. I am here to serve and shall continue to serve until the end of my second term.