Deal reached to relocate highway families

By Hari Prasad Koirala,Urlabari, Jan. 15: An agreement has been reached to remove houses in the Bhaluwa area of Kerabari Rural Municipality, located under the Morang section of the Madan Bhandari Highway. 

The construction of this highway was initiated by the government as a National Pride Project, serving as an alternative to the national highway.

This National Pride Project, which has been facing one problem after another, has been stalled in some places due to the inability to remove trees from national forest areas, in others due to difficulties in managing houses along the roadside, and elsewhere because the road’s alignment passes through private land as per the Detailed Project Report (DPR). 

In the Morang section, locals had expected construction to move forward after the completion of tree felling on 20.94 hectares of forest land along the 9.42-km stretch of road. 

A total of 1,333 trees in Miklajung, Letang and Kerabari rural municipalities of Morang have already been cut, and the construction area has been cleared. 

However, road construction had come to a halt as eight families in Bhaluwa, Kerabari–9, and one family in Ward No. 3 could not be relocated elsewhere.

On Tuesday, Kerabari Rural Municipality held discussions with nine families living along the roadside and reached an agreement. According to Chairperson of Kerabari Suman Miringchhing, the municipality has agreed to identify land and relocate the nine families to suitable locations. He added that there was also an agreement to correspond with the Morang District Administration Office to determine compensation for the houses.

According to Subhash Kumar Datta, Acting Project Chief of the Madan Bhandari Highway Project, Damak Office, the project will provide compensation as determined by the Compensation Assessment Committee formed by the Morang District Administration Office. 

He said that if the affected families do not agree with the compensation provided at government rates, further problems may arise.

However, Ward No. 9 Chairperson Gopal Yakkha said that even if the affected people do not agree with the compensation at government rates, the rural municipality will manage the situation from its side, if necessary, to clear the road’s right of way. 

He added that the affected families have already understood the importance of this pride project and therefore no further problems are expected.

Construction of the pride project has been delayed due to the houses of Indra Bahadur Rai, Surendra Chaudhary, Khagendra Limbu, Katak Bahadur Rai, Rajendra Sah, Balananda Khatri, Shanta Maya Magar and Nirmala Ghimire of Bhaluwa, Kerabari–9, on the eastern side of the roadside, as well as the house of Lal Bahadur Karki of Ward No. 3.

According to Datta, highway construction had begun to progress rapidly once permission was granted to cut trees. However, small issues have continued to create major problems, preventing the work from proceeding at the required pace. 

He said that the project has achieved 87 per cent physical progress so far. There is no shortage of budget and no problems with payments. Out of the contract agreement worth Rs. 10.13 billion, Rs. 8 billion has already been paid. 

Datta added that as Rs. 490 million has been allocated in the current fiscal year 2025/26 as well, there will be no budgetary shortfall.

Pralhad Dhungana, Managing Director of the construction company Shrestha–Motidan JV, said that the work would be completed within the stipulated time if the construction area is cleared.

He stated that the biggest problem had been the trees falling within the road’s right-of-way. As the work of removing those trees has reached its final stage, construction will proceed at a rapid pace until mid-July. 

He added that work on the remaining sections of the road would be easier and faster as there would be no heavy traffic or human presence.