July 08, Kathmandu.
Although the Valley Development Authority has prepared DPRs for the construction of four new cities, only three DPRs are being developed due to the disagreement of the Lalitpur Municipal Corporation.
Januka Dhakal, a commissioner of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, said that a meeting of the physical development committee of the authority will be held within a week and a decision will be taken to send the physical development master plan of the smart city to the cabinet.
"Once the physical development plan is approved by the cabinet, small-scale real estate transactions will be stopped in those areas. In the case of densely populated areas where smart city construction cannot take place, a separate decision will be made," she said. Even now, the sale of land less than 8 acres is prohibited in those areas.
Asking to build new cities in Kathmandu, the government had stopped the construction of forts of four cities proposed for three years from July 19, 2074 BS. Even though the term expired on July 19, the ban remains in place as the Council of Ministers has not made any further decision.
After the Council of Ministers passes the physical development plan of the proposed city, the construction of new physical infrastructure in the proposed city area has to be stopped.
"Once the master plan is passed, new structures cannot be allowed to be built without approval. If so, the plans proposed in the DPR will be affected," said an official of the authority. Privately built structures will be more affected if the government bans the construction of physical infrastructure.
A meeting of the Physical Development Committee chaired by the then Urban Development Minister Basanta Nemwang decided to approve the DPR of the three cities and recommend to the Government of Nepal to take the land and make it available to the NEA as per the Land Acquisition Act, 2034 BS. . However, the Ministry of Urban Development had sent the file back to the authority saying that the master plan should be approved and sent without DPR.
An official of NEA said that the work of approving the master plan was stopped after the previous Urban Development Minister Prabhu Sah was reluctant to hold a meeting of the Physical Development Committee.
According to the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority regulations, the government has to approve the physical development plan of the land for land pooling and publish the detailed information in the Gazette.
The Ministry of Urban Development had released the summary of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of three smart cities last February. To become these cities of the ministry, the residents of the respective areas have to contribute an average of 36.98 percent per capita. The per capita average contribution of all three cities is 34.95 percent. The ministry has stated that the government will provide developed plots for such contributions.
The land taken from the locals will be used for wide roads, open areas, public areas and service plots. The government plans to raise investment in the projects from that.
There is a provision in the regulations that the government can take any land (number, public, party, kulo, kholsi), house, lake, pond tree etc. to make such a city and make it available to NEA as per the Land Acquisition Act, 2034 BS.
Based on these regulations, NEA proposes to make these three cities through land consolidation by giving developed lands to the concerned landowners / mohi to compensate for the land falling within the plan area.
According to the Upatyaka Development Authority, the project has been proposed to take the land of the locals and develop the blocks in it and return it to the locals.
NEA claims that the value of local land will triple when the infrastructure of systematic urbanization is built and returned. The master plan of the city has been prepared in the model that the government will bear the cost of the project from the locals by giving land to the project and developing it as a city.
According to NEA Commissioner Dhakal, even if the government has to invest in the beginning, it will get the money back in the future. The government plans to develop certain service plots in every city as a business sector. The government will put the land in the service plot and sell it to the entrepreneurs.
Ishan city
The proposed 'Ishan' fort is located on the northeast side of Kathmandu. To the west are the old road to Bhaktapur via Jorpati Cricket Stadium, Mulpani and Gothatar.
To the north is the main road from the cricket ground to Sankhu, Sankhu Bazaar, Chihanepati, Taluwari, Ghattekhola to Telkot and in the south to Bhaktapur Old Road.
The city has wards 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Kageshwari Manohara municipality, wards 5, 6, 7 and 9 of Shankharapur municipality, wards 2, 6 and 10 of Bhaktapur municipality and wards 2, 6, 7 of Madhyapur Thimi municipality. Wards No. 8 and 9 and Changunarayan Municipality 1, 2, 3, 45 and the whole of Ward No. 6, 7, 8.
The total cost of the project is Rs. 286.25 billion. If this city, which covers one lakh three thousand five hundred ropanis of land, is built according to the plan, roads will be built in an area of 20 thousand 442 ropanis. It has been proposed to keep 5 thousand 220.23 ropanis of land as an open area. 57 thousand 720 ropanis of land will be returned as plots.
Out of the expenditure incurred on this project, Rs. 106.611 billion will be borne by the Government of Nepal and the amount to be borne by the project will be Rs. 179.639 billion. The current price in the proposed project area is Rs. 1.1 million per annum. NEA claims that the price of Ghaderi to be sold after the construction of the project will be Rs 3.1 million per annum.
NEA estimates that the project will generate Rs 203.36 billion from the sale of 4,100 ropanis of service plots.
The locals should contribute an average of 36.98 percent of the land per plot in the Northeast City project. On average, only 63.02 percent of the land is returned.
The Upatyaka Development Authority says that loans can be obtained from various banks to raise financial resources for the project, which has a construction period of seven years. For that, the banks have committed to invest Rs 30 billion.
Fiery city
A boundary has been demarcated from Sirjana Nagar Chowk to Arani Highway, Ghyampedada Road, Gundu Bus Park at the foot of Suryabinayak Forest to the east of the proposed 'fiery' city in the east-south of Kathmandu. The fort has been fixed from Biruwa Bus Park on the west to Sumlingtar Charbato Chowk via Gamcha Chowk Harsh Chowk, Hanuman Bridge to Thimi Biruwa Road and on the north to Hanumante Bridge, Sirjana Chowk.
The southern boundary extends from Gundu Bus Park to Biruwa Bus Park via Anantalingeshwar Mahadev Tarkhagal. Within this fort, Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6 and 7 under Suryabinayak Municipality. Parts of the ward are included. The city costing Rs. 23.25 billion will be spread over 18 thousand 571 ropanis.
Out of that, 3,504 ropanis will be used for roads and 996 ropanis will be an open area. Locals should contribute an average of 35 percent of land per capita to this project. The government will return 65 percent of the land after constructing the plot.
1,000 ropanis of land will be kept as a serviced plot. It is seen from the DPR that 40 billion can be earned by selling it. NEA claims that the construction will be completed within five years.
Green (North) City
The green city to be built in the north of Kathmandu will be east of Bhili, Sapantirtha Dobhan to Bhootkhel Chowk. From Bhedi Goth Chowk (Tarkeshwar) to Kavresthali Bypass on the west, Bihani Chowk, Mahadev Mandir, Kriyaputri Bhawan through Chimber Pokhari on the north and Sherpa Petrol Pump, Bhatke Bridge, Nagpokhari, Lower Bhedi Goth Chowk, Kavresthali School Chowk through Surya Darshan (Tokha) on the south.
Wards 1, 2 and 7 of Tarkeshwar Municipality and Wards 1, 2 and 3 under Tokha Municipality are included in this city. The total cost of the project is Rs. 25.83 billion.
Spread over 13,623.5 ropanis, the city will cover 2,815.5 ropanis of road area. The city will have an open area of 692.30 ropanis and a serviced plot of 969.99 ropanis.
NEA estimates that the current turnover of Rs. 1.1 million per annum will reach Rs. The project aims to earn Rs 36.09 billion from the service plot.
In the green city, the locals will have to contribute an average of 32.87 percent per lot and the project will return 67.13 percent of the land.
