Four India-assisted development projects completed in Nepal

ByLaxman Datt Pant

Four India-assisted development projects completed in Nepal

The four India-assisted reconstruction development projects for education, health posts, and hospitals, and cultural heritage sites in Nepal have been completed. On the second day of his official visit (26-27 November) to Nepal, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary of India, inaugurated these four development projects in the Gorkha and Manang districts of Nepal completed with assistance from India.

Secretary Shringla also delivered a distinguished lecture at an event hosted by the Asia Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDIA). Affirming that the Nepal-India relationship is complex and exists in various paradigms, Sringla said that, for India, Nepal is fundamental to its “Neighborhood First” approach.

“Aside from our common civilizational inheritance, India’s relationship with Nepal rests on four pillars – development cooperation, stronger connectivity, expanded infrastructure and economic projects, and easier and enhanced access to educational opportunities in India for the young people of Nepal,” he said.

Shringla was of the view that India’s development and modernization are incomplete and that this was naturally and symbiotically linked to the development and modernization of neighboring countries such as Nepal.

He travelled to the Gorkha district on the second day of his visit where he inaugurated the Shree Mahalaxmi, Shree Ratnalaxmi, and Shree Tara Secondary Schools built with Indian reconstruction assistance. Ram Krishna Sapkota, Secretary of the National Reconstruction Authority of Nepal, was also present on the occasion. Some 1600 students in these three schools now enjoy the benefit of the newly constructed, earthquake resilient school buildings. These schools have been constructed as part of 71 educational institutes across nine districts of Nepal being built under the Government of India grant assistance of US$50 million for reconstruction in the education sector. The nine beneficiary districts are Gorkha, Nuwakot, Sindhupalchowk, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Kavrepalanchowk, Dhading, and Kathmandu.

Emphasizing that education is the best investment for the future of the country and its people, Shringla encouraged Nepali students to take advantage of over 3000 scholarships being offered by the Government of India to contribute to the development of Nepal and to further strengthen the India-Nepal partnership. It is to be noted that since 2003, the Government of India has built 270 educational campuses across Nepal under the High Impact Community Development Projects scheme, complementing the efforts of the Government of Nepal in this sector.

Similarly, India is also working with the Government of Nepal on the reconstruction of 147 health posts and hospitals in ten districts of Nepal under a grant of US$50 million and 28 cultural heritage sites in eight districts of Nepal under another grant of US$50 million. As part of its post-earthquake assistance to Nepal, the Government of India has significantly fulfilled its commitment to the housing sector with over 46,500 houses being handed over to beneficiaries in the Gorkha and Nuwakot districts of Nepal.

On the same day, Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla virtually inaugurated the Tashop (Tare) Gompa monastery constructed in Shree Kharka village in the Manang district of Nepal. Present on this occasion were Yadav Prasad Koirala, Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Government of Nepal and Rev. Acharya Lama Norbu Sherpa, President of Nepal Buddhist Federation along with representatives of Khangsar Sewa Samiti. Shringla expressed his pleasure at the Government of India’s role in restoring the ancient monastery in the Manang district and in contributing to the preservation of the rich Buddhist heritage of this Himalayan region. The restoration of the monastery was adopted as a High Impact Community Development Project under grant assistance at the request of the local Khangsar village and authorities.

In addition to these projects, India has supported Nepal in a number of development projects involving physical connectivity including highways, energy connectivity such as power transmission lines or petroleum pipelines, and digital connectivity through optical fibre networks which include:

  • The Motihari–Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline, the first of its kind in the region. It has created the capacity to carry two million metric tons of petroleum products into Nepal and has already led to savings of over Nepali Rupees 800 million for the population.
  • Prompt implementation of the 900 MW Arun III hydropower power project is underway and cross-border power transmission lines have been upgraded.
  • The Jayanagar-Kurtha cross-border rail line should be operational shortly which will make Janakpur so much quicker to visit from India.
  • The modern integrated checkpoints at Birgunj and Biratnagar have transformed the cross-border movement of people and goods and work on the integrated checkpoints at Nepalgunj has commenced.
  • After the earthquake of 2015, India cooperated with Nepal in the restoration of 30 heritage locations including the iconic Seto Machindranath temple in Kathmandu, the Hiranyavarna Mahavihar at Patan, and the Jangam Matha at Bhaktapur.
  • 70 schools and 150 health facilities are being built in 12 districts of Nepal with Indian support.
  • The outlay of Indian earthquake-related assistance is US$1 billion. A total of 46,000 houses applying earthquake-resilient technologies have been built in the Gorkha and Nuwakot districts of Nepal.

Meanwhile, Harsh Vardhan Shringla met his Nepalese counterpart, Bharat Raj Paudyal and during the meeting, the two Foreign Secretaries discussed and reviewed various aspects of the bilateral ties between Nepal and India. They expressed satisfaction at the substantial progress made in various sectors of cooperation despite the restraints imposed by the current COVID-19 situation. Shringla also spoke to the President of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari, the Prime Minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli, and the Foreign Minister of Nepal, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.