MP Bhumika Limbu Subba Demands Withdrawal of Road Department's Decision on Mechi Highway Structures

Kathmandu. CPN (UML) MP Bhumika Limbu Subba has demanded that the government immediately withdraw the Road Department's decision to remove physical structures falling within the road boundary of the Mechi Highway. Speaking on an emergency occasion in the House of Representatives meeting on Thursday, she strongly objected to this step of the government and demanded that the decision be corrected.

MP Subba clarified that the demolition of these structures, which include densely populated settlements and large markets in various places of Ilam, Panchthar, and Taplejung districts along the Mechi Highway, would render lakhs of citizens homeless. She stated that it is unacceptable to displace settlements where people have been living for years without providing any alternative or proper compensation. She drew the government's attention to the fact that instead of warning citizens when the road boundary was set and people were building settlements, the government is now trying to uproot them. She mentioned that the Road Department's notice has spread fear among the residents of the eastern hills, stating, 'The Mechi Highway from Jhapa to Taplejung is not new. It is a historical lifeline connecting the eastern hills and the Terai. According to the Public Roads Act 2031, the road boundary should have been determined at that time, and citizens around the road should have been prohibited from constructing any structures. However, due to a lack of information about the road boundary and insufficient awareness among citizens, lakhs of people in this region have constructed structures within the road boundary. Expanding the road will require demolishing the houses of lakhs of people. Doing so will devastate the entire eastern hills, and the houses of lakhs of people here will be demolished, and their means of livelihood will also be બંધ.' She further added, 'At a time when homeless settlements are being cleared across the country and people are becoming anxious and homeless, this notice from the Road Department has caused fear among citizens living along the road in all three districts, from Jorkalash in Ilam, through Panchthar, to Sukepokhari in Taplejung. There are very large, dense settlements and markets along this road. I demand that the government reconsider the decision to demolish markets at this time and physical structures along the road boundary that will cause hardship to the people in rural areas.'

MP Subba emphasized that the government must immediately stop causing such sudden distress and fear to its citizens without prior notice and preparation. She urged the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure to proceed with development work only after protecting the market areas, which are the economic and social backbone of the eastern hilly districts.