Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Midhills Highway – a key infrastructure project for the prosperity of the mid-hills region – has managed to achieve only 64% work progress in 16 years.
It has already been six years since the construction deadline of the project expired. However, demarcation work is still to begin on some road sections.
The government started Pushpalal Midhills Highway Project in Fiscal Year 2007/08 dividing the road project, which spans the entire breadth of the country, into two segments – eastern and western. Five project offices are currently working on different sections of the mega project under the Midhills Highway Directorate.
According to the directorate, 25 bridges and altogether 415 km of roads are still to be built. Of them, works on 19 bridges and 205 km of roads have not even reached the tendering process.
In Dhading and Gorkha section, the highway was first demarcated along the banks of the Budhi Gandaki River. Since the Ministry of Energy, Irrigation and Water Resources’ decision to build a reservoir-based hydropower project in the area, there is a need to look for alternatives for the road section, according to Suraj Adhikari, information officer of the directorate.
Likewise, the demarcation of a section in Kaski has been changed as per the cabinet decision. Similarly, tendering process for a 38 km section from Bhainsei to Yamdi bridge via Jyamdu, Melbot, Amrakakot, Kalikhola, Lamachaur and Jaubari has just begun.
According to the directorate, it will have to start tendering process to blacktop 357 km of roads, and build 18 bridges and 134.5 km of roads in the current fiscal year.
The highway project has also been facing difficulty in getting clearance from the Ministry of Forest to fell trees on the project’s right of way. To fell trees, the project must first prepare an environmental impact assessment and forward it to the cabinet for approval.
Even after approval of the EIA report, the project office has to seek permission to cut down trees. According to the project office, work in districts like Gorkha, Lamjung and Nuwakot has been affected due to the delay in getting clearance from the forest authorities.
Similarly, difficulty in mining sand and aggregates, and compensation disputes have also affected project works. The project has been providing compensation for only houses and other structures built on the land. However, as some projects funded by foreign companies have been providing higher compensation also for land, people are making similar demands, according to the project office.
The mega project was started in 2008/09 setting a completion deadline of 2017/18. The project’s deadline has been extended repeatedly. The latest deadline extends till the current fiscal year.
The highway, which connects 26 districts of the mid-hills region, is estimated to connect 215 settlements and benefit over 10 million people, while building dozens of new cities. The government designated Midhills Highway Project as the national pride project in 2013/14.
