Govt is asked to establish powerful authority for infra development

The Development Committee of the Legislature-Parliament Thursday directed the government to establish a powerful authority for the development of road infrastructure in the country.

It criticised the government for the poor quality and insufficient road infrastructure as well as for the weak monitoring of road construction in the Kathmandu Valley.

Committee chairman Rabindra Adhikari asked the government and the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to initiate homework to establish such an authority and develop an integrated legal framework to address the various lapses in road construction.

He also directed the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD), Department of Roads (DoR), Kathmandu Valley Development Authority (KVDA) and Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) to develop a master plan for the valley and expedite the construction of roads as per the capacity of the settlement here.

Currently, roads are being built by the DoR, Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (Dolidar), metropolitan cities, municipalities, development authorities and consumer committees.

But these agencies never coordinate among themselves or collaborate for infrastructure development, rather they point accusing fingers at others for the poor job done.

Likewise poor coordination among the road development agencies, Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), telecommunication companies and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) is another factor for the damaged and dilapidated roads in the country.

Right after a road is black-topped or maintained, the DWSS or NEA begins digging it to lay the pipes for drinking water and sewerage or erect electricity poles.

Similarly, the valley lacks a city development plan necessary to maintain a balance among roads, open spaces, commercial areas and residential zones. As a result, the valley has become a nightmare for the commuters.

The Committee also expressed serious concern over the traffic congestion in the Kathmandu Valley and the sufferings of the people due to the traffic jams.

 “About 700,000 vehicles ply on 1,600 kilometres of roads in the valley. Lack of wide roads have compelled the denizens of the metropolitan city of Kathmandu and other cities to suffer traffic congestion for 1-3 hours everyday,” said Adhikari.

It lambasted the MoUD and the KMC for their failure to clean the overhead bridges and footpaths lined with street shops.

It directed them to keep the overhead bridges and footpaths clean and well maintained and run an awareness campaign to motivate the people to use them to allow the traffic to flow seamlessly.

 “Although the country has enough budget, manpower and other resources to develop quality roads, the progress is sluggish. The agencies responsible for road development do nothing during the dry season and hurriedly construct roads for the sake of finishing the budget,” Adhikari said.

The committee directed the MoUD, KVDA and KMC to complete the construction and maintenance of roads by mid-March every year and show no mercy on the developers and contractors engaged in them.

It also directed the concerned authorities to complete the maintenance of the roads within a month and preserve and maintain the structures such as parks and monuments developed during the 18^th SAARC Summit.