National Pride Projects

Nepal is a least developed country desperate to graduate to the status of a developing country. Keenly aware that without massive investment in mega infrastructural projects that dream is unlikely to materialise, 24 such projects – also known as National Pride Projects (NPPs) – have been identified and works to build them have been in progress. They include projects related to airports, expressway, irrigation, drinking water supply, religious sites, etc. While some have seen encouraging progress, most of the rest have been mired in woeful state due to frustratingly sluggish pace of construction. As things stand, many are likely to miss the deadlines. Needless to say, delay in completion brings cost overruns – the reason why several of them are now estimated to cost at least double or triple of what was estimated at the onset. 

It would be a good idea to rethink such projects that are bleeding the government financially with mounting losses and are also unlikely to yield intended benefits. It should instead ditch them in favour of new promising ones. Foot trail from Tribeni, Chitwan, through various hilly districts to mountainous region covering various national parks and protected regions that not only serves as a religious trail for millions of pilgrims and the tourists alike – at home and abroad – but also sets a trend of eco-tourism, as pointed out by one expert, can be one good option. 

It's concerning that many of our NPPs are failing to take off, including some untaken by Nepal Army (NA). Kathmandu-Tarai Expressway is a case in point. It has drawn the attention of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka who the other day said that the NA and all stakeholders need to be sensitive about completing NPPs within the stipulated cost and time. The NA's proven track record of successfully making breakthroughs even in an exceedingly difficult terrain previously thought unpassable makes it a worthy candidate for a NPP. So questioning its ability to complete a project doesn't and mustn't add up. 

The NA has clarified that unless and until the existing Acts related to forest and land acquisition are amended, it won't be able to complete the expressway project even in 2027, the extended deadline. If more than half-a-century-old outdated law stands in the way of implementing the project, revising it imperative. Problem in land acquisition has also emerged as a daunting challenge. There is no doubt that any project, no matter how important, by no means should soil the religious or social identity of the inhabitants of the land it is to build on. That's because the attachment people feel for their ancestral land is unshakably deep. 

That said, no matter how intractable a problem seems at first glance, it is not without an agreeable solution. So, cooperating without demanding unreasonably high rate for the land they have to give for the project is sure to be win-win case, for they would be the ones to overwhelming benefit from it once completed. What is of paramount importance is we cannot afford to remain in the backwater of development. We must accelerate infrastructural development to build a robust economy come hell or high water. For that end, we mustn't hesitate to make concessions.