February 21: The government has introduced the election constituency strategic road project but has not conducted any study on its strategic importance. The project has been launched to invest billions of rupees on the roads chosen by the elected representatives. Approximate, 2,200 kilometers of roads have been chosen by the elected representatives of 165 election constituencies. However, the study on its strategic importance is nowhere to be found.

This project has already been passed by the council of ministers. Even the Ministry of Finance has accepted the proposal under the ‘Constituency Strategic Road Construction and Operation Criteria-2077’. After securing the resource, the project has been taken forward in the current fiscal year. Among the 165 roads, the tender of 25 roads have already been announced and their technical proposals have been accepted as well. If there are no legal obligations within three weeks, the Department of Roads will sign a contract for their construction.

According to the criteria, each MP will have to identify a road for construction in their constituency. Such roads need to be identified on the basis of their proximity to the national highways and must support the economic, social, and industrial development within the constituency. Meanwhile, there have been no studies or tests on this subject matter yet. Shiva Prasad Nepal, the Deputy Director General and Spokesperson of the Department of Roads said that despite the roads being called the election constituency strategic roads, no one really knows how strategic the roads are.

“These roads have been chosen by the elected representatives,” Nepal said adding, “While the strategic importance of such roads are yet to be ascertained. Even the studies on its strategic importance have not yet been conducted.”

There is a provision to conduct a detailed project report (DPR) on the selected roads by the elected representatives. Also the environmental impact assessment is to be done if necessary. The Department of Roads has been working as per the responsibility given by the federal government.

The department has stated that a budget of Rs 57.10 billion is required for the construction of these roads. However, no study has been done on the strategic importance of the road to be built with such a large investment and how much it will be financially viable. These roads are targeted to be completed within the next three years. However, in some places there are problems with land acquisition and some fall in forest areas. Therefore, Nepal said that it would take time for DPR and environmental impact assessment.

DPR and EIA take more than a year to complete. Similarly, it takes 6 months to complete the procurement process. One and a half years will pass in this process. “There is no basis to build 165 roads in the remaining year and a half and mobilize resources,” said Nepal adding, “There will be no delay in road construction in areas where DPR has been done. EIA is not required where curring of trees is not necessary and land is not required to be acquired.” The technical proposal of the tender for 25 roads has already been approved.

For the construction of constituency strategic roads, the government has set a minimum of Rs 200 million to a maximum of Rs 600 million investment limit. It is likely that it will take around 5 years to complete these roads.

The government has allocated Rs. 2.32 billion budget for this project. The construction of this road was announced by the outgoing Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in April, 2021.