Bagmati Province Government to Construct Integrated Administrative Structure in Hetauda

Makwanpur. The Bagmati Province government has brought its long-standing plan to construct its own integrated administrative structure in Hetauda to the implementation phase.

A final agreement has been reached between the federal government's Department of Forests and Soil Conservation and the province's Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development for the use of forest land.

With this agreement, the provincial government will have a clear path for tree cutting and construction of structures in the forest area. The process of formal agreement between the department and the provincial government on land use rights and tree cutting has concluded, and field work is now set to begin.

The provincial government is moving forward with the construction of an integrated structure to consolidate its ministries, which have been operating from rented houses and scattered old government buildings for a long time, into a single complex. The provincial government signed an agreement with the department for this work on Monday.

Permission to cut 5,226 trees in 31 hectares of forest land

As per the Council of Ministers' decision on Chaitra 1, 2082, the provincial government obtained the right to use 31.02 hectares of national forest land in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City Wards 16 and 17 for the construction of administrative buildings. The project includes 27.57 hectares of forest land (Ghyampe and Churekhali Community Forests) and 3.45 hectares of school and public land.

The provincial government plans to construct ministries and various structures on the land granted for use under Sub-section (1) of Section 42 of the Forest Act, 2076.

The Department of Forests has already granted permission to remove 5,226 trees and poles of various species in the area for building construction. To advance this process, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development has officially designated the CDE of the Directorate of Transport Infrastructure, Hetauda, Chandra Dev Bhatta, as the authorized representative and Engineer Rajan Gautam of the Provincial Capital Infrastructure Development Special Project as a witness, and sent them to the department on Monday.

They signed the forest agreement with the department on Monday itself. The provincial government has already deposited 3 crore 41 lakh rupees into the Forest Development Fund for obtaining the right to use the land. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development has signed the agreement with the department after depositing the fee for planting and nurturing new saplings to replace the 5,226 trees to be cut.

Target to start work within the current fiscal year – Secretary Marhatta

According to Ishwar Chandra Marhatta, Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure Development, the government aims to start construction work in the field within the current fiscal year. He stated that although procedural work took some time, the process of tree cutting and land management will now gain momentum.

He mentioned that all procedural work has been completed, including ensuring the necessary funds for the conservation and afforestation of the trees and plants in the area during land acquisition. According to him, the process will now be expedited, and the ministry is preparing to lay the foundation for the construction of the structure within the current fiscal year. Since the funds have already been deposited, after the agreement between the Department of Forests and the Ministry, the Division Forest Office Makwanpur will issue an order for tree cutting and collection to proceed with the work.

He explained that although the land use rights were obtained, some delay occurred due to coordination among government bodies, procedural matters between the ministry, project, and the Department of Forests, and fund transfer, which took a few weeks. He stated that all legal and procedural hurdles have now been cleared, making it possible to carry out work in the field.

'We have already deposited the required 3 crore 41 lakh rupees into the Forest Development Fund. Today (the 28th), an agreement has been signed between the Department of Forests and our ministry's representatives. Now, the process of tree cutting and marking will begin through the Division Forest Office,' he said. 'Due to changes in the National Building Code and the restructuring of ministries, some technical and managerial modifications have been made to the old designs. Since there is sufficient land, we plan to utilize the space effectively for construction. The design is in the final stages, with plans to house quarters and some ministries in an integrated building, and construct some separate buildings as needed.'

Rakesh Chandravanshi, Chief of the Division Forest Office Makwanpur, stated that the financial and procedural preparations required for removing trees in the construction area are complete. He mentioned that once the funds are deposited and the department signs the agreement, an order for tree cutting and collection can be issued. Since the trees have already been identified, work can commence as soon as the agreement is finalized and the letter is received.

'Trees falling within the community forest area will be handed over to the respective consumer groups, while timber from government forest areas will be managed by the Forest Office according to regulations. The Division Forest Office and the Directorate will coordinate this process. The field can be cleared within a month of receiving the agreement,' he said.

The plan, which has been entangled in legal processes for land acquisition since 2076, has now opened the way for construction after the federal cabinet meeting resolved the issue.

Since the establishment of the provincial structure in 2074, Bagmati Province has had 5 chief ministers and over 80 ministers. In this situation, the province's ministries have been forced to operate from cramped government buildings and rented houses due to the lack of their own organized buildings. Although past governments allocated budgets annually, the construction of administrative structures could not proceed due to the inability to obtain land use rights.