The total length of the planned Ring Road is 28 kilometers but so far the track of only 500 meters has been opened. Ghorahi Municipality had started the road project in 2009 with a plan to complete it in 10 years. [break]
“The local administration needs to acquire land for the road but some landowners are refusing to provide land. As a result, we have yet to proceed with the construction,” said Damodar Adhikari, coordinator of the Ring Road Construction Committee (RRCC).
“We have only opened 500 meters track from Sarra in the municipality since work started because we are unable to acquire land.”
RRCC is currently negotiating with the land owners for acquiring land for the road project.
According to Adhikari, they have formed three committees for holding talks with the landowners. The committees have fanned out around the municipality and are holding talks.
A year ago, some landowners from ward number 1 and 7 of Ghorahi Municipality had filed petition at the Appellate Court demanding halt to the project arguing that the Ring Road was planned without consulting them and without seeking their consent.
The court had stayed the construction and ordered the local administration to restart work only after forging consensus with the landowners. As per the verdict of the court, the RRCC should make sure that at least 51 percent of the landowners whose land touches the Ring Road give their consent for the construction.
“We are trying to convince the land owners that they will benefit from the road, and their response so far is positive,” said Adhikari.
Likewise, Neb Bahadur Oli, executive officer at Ghorahi Municipality, said the people will be provided financial compensation for their land acquisitioned by the project.
He also said that budget crunch is also responsible for the delay in restarting the construction work. “We are waiting for the government to provide necessary budget for the project,” added.
So far Rs 700,000 has been spent on the road project, according to the municipality office.
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