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Oli laid foundation stones for 165 roads across Nepal, but dept has neither list nor DPRs and EIA reports

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli remotely lays foundation stones for 165 new roads from Kathmandu, on Saturday, April 3, 2021.

Kathmandu, April 4

Amid a special function organised in Kathmandu on Saturday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli remotely laid foundation stones for 165 new road projects, one each in a House of Representatives constituency.

However, the Department of Roads says it does not have a full list of the roads that are being constructed across the country. Moreover, the detailed project reports and environmental impact assessment reports for the new projects are yet to be readied.

Owing to the lawmakers’ pressure, the government had announced in the annual budget plan for this fiscal year a project to construct a new road in each constituency.

Accordingly, the lawmakers have submitted their proposal, but the list is yet to be finalised, according to Shiva Prasad Nepal, the deputy director-general of the department. “We assume the roads in total will have a length of around 2,200 km.”

The government has allocated Rs 3.2 billion for the project for this year. It requires additional Rs 54 billion in the next two years, but the government does not have any idea about possible funding sources.

Officials of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Management, hence, say Oli’s rush to launch the project, hence, is nothing but a political stunt.

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