To augment the efforts of the Government of Nepal (GoN) in creating infrastructure in priority sectors, on March 4 the Government of India (GoI) agreed to provide an estimated US$377,007 in grant assistance for the construction of a new building for Shree Naharpur Secondary School (SNSS) located in the Butwal sub-metropolitan city in the Lumbini province of Nepal.
As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Head of Development Partnership and Reconstruction Wing of the Embassy of India in Nepal, the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration of Nepal, and Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, the new school building will be built under the Nepal-Bharat Maitri (Nepal-India Friendship) Development Partnership as part of the GoI’s High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) scheme.
- Established in 1971, SNSS provides tuition in the fields of education and management for grades 11 and 12
- There are currently 1,127 students enrolled at the school of whom 50% are girls
- Under the HICDP program, since 2003 India has completed 446 projects in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation, and the creation of other public utilities across all seven provinces of Nepal
- Of these projects, 41 are in the Lumbini province including 10 completed projects in Rupandehi district and nine projects are at various stages of completion in province 5 including one in Rupandehi district
- Meanwhile, India is reconstructing 71 educational institutions that were damaged during the 2015 earthquake in eight districts of Nepal under a reconstruction grant of US$49.5 million
- Eight schools have already been completed with work ongoing at another 62
- The Tribhuvan University Central Library project is currently under tender process
- Over 40 health posts and health camps have been completed in Nepal so far
- The GoI has also gifted over 823 ambulances to governmental, non-governmental/non-profit making organizations in Nepal since 1994
Previously, on February 28, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Ambassador of India to Nepal, Sushil Gyanwali, Chief Executive Officer at NRA of Nepal, and Bidya Sundar Shakya, Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City jointly marked the beginning of work to undertake the conservation and restoration of the Seto Machindranath temple.
- Built-in the 10th century AD during the Malla era and located in the heart of Kathmandu city, the temple is visited by both Hindus and Buddhist devotees to worship Seto Machindranath
- The conservation work at the temple is the first of 28 cultural heritage conservation and restoration projects being undertaken with the support of the GoI in the cultural heritage sector
- The temple will be conserved as per Nepal’s Ancient Monument Preservation Act and the Department of Archaeology’s Basic Guidelines and Manual for the conservation and reconstruction of heritage that was affected by the 2015 earthquake
- The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage will provide technical support during the conservation and restoration work as per the Detailed Project Report approved by the GoN
On 26 February, the GoI and GoN signed four separate MoUs for the reconstruction of a total of 25 health posts in Nepal of which 12 are located in Dhading district and 13 are located in Sindhupalchowk district. Damaged during the 2015 earthquake, these health posts are expected to be reconstructed at an estimated cost of US$4.52 million.
These 25 health posts are the first batch of 147 health sector projects being reconstructed by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) of Nepal under the GoI reconstruction grant of US$ 50 million for the health sector in 10 districts of Nepal.
