Objectives

1. To present the historic and present image of Kathmandu valley

2. To preserve the valuable agricultural land, in so far as possible
3. To develop an efficient transportation system for the valley
4. To reduce the density of congested area in the cities
5. To try to raise the low-density city areas to more efficient densities
6. To propose an effective urban renewal program
7. To propose programs for development of villages in the Kathmandu valley
8. To prepare a land use map to be useful over the next 20 years.

Measures that were taken to achieve these objectives

1. To treat town planning office as part of government to reduce the duplication of effort and
increase efficiency
2. To build up the office with additional staff from other sections of the Department (esp. the
Building Design- Section)
3. To set up a statistical unit to collect and compile all the information and statistical data
4. To set up a mapping unit for the preparation of maps and graphical presentations
5. To prepare and compile questionnaires, filled out by panchayats, for collecting relevant socio-
economic data.
6. To secure the help of all the government departments in collecting information
7. To get the base map of Kathmandu valley as prepared by the forest resource survey office
8. To send teams to villages to survey physical and socio-economic conditions

Regional development plan for Nepal

 Nepal embodies many groups of people living in many living environment
 To promote and guide development it must strive to more fully integrate these varying groups
and areas into a unified and harmonious varied national entity.
 Integration cannot be accomplished by ignoring regional difference.
 Lack of coordination or interaction at levels of both formulation and implementation.
 National developments plans broken down in terms of sectoral allocations, these programs
taken individually or in relation to one another seldom have been product of systematic or
thorough planning
 Difficulty in achieving cooperation between central government efforts and panchayat activities
at various levels.
 Development plans made by panchayats, while locally relevant, are often not formed with
adequate planning expertise.
 Throughout the overall planning process the lack of accurate data and statistics within the
relevant categories has seriously hampered planning efforts, inadequate data for determine the
present state, direction and rate of change of conditions hinders evaluation of ongoing projects
and programs
Physical planning methodology applied on regional level in this existing problem seeks to make
important contribution in Nepal’s development planning

1. Within the current applied methodology in economic planning on national level, it offers a
means of broadening the scope of allocative processes of national planning, as well as providing
realistic basis for sectoral coordination.
2. Through analysis of and planning of individual regions it provides a means of achieving a basis
for allocative decisions and sectoral coordination on the level of the regions.

Region means a geophysical part of a country or specified qualitative or quantitative activity levels
within interrelated settlement patterns. It may be specific resource-oriented areas such as oil or
forestry.

Or it may an existing or potential city-centered region, embracing the hinterland of a major urban
centre, or a multi-nodal, dispersed urbanized region.

 Economic planning is concerned with the maximum use of scarce resources and development of
production potential.
 Economic planning practices by government of Nepal calls for quantitative evaluation of the
position and rate of change of the country’s economic life in terms of ‘social accounts’ which are
expressed in such aggregate terms such as GDP, the net disposal income, per capita income and
international trade balance.
 These aggregates then are broken down in terms of the major sectors of the economy:
agriculture, transportation, education, social services, industry, etc.
 These aspects are related to each other and development goals of the country.
 Through process of continuous adjustment, a national plan is devised which is ultimately
approved by legislative authority.
 In Nepal development plans are cast in three stages: short, medium and long term.

Application of regional development

Within the national framework, development regions would first have to be delineated on the basis of

 a comprehensive economic-geographic survey covering topography, climate, the gamut of

national resources, agricultural development and potentials;
 population, including rates of growth, migration and manpower skills;
 educational and institutional facilities:
 urbanization and industrial development; political sub-divisions;
 historical and cultural aspects.

Preliminary regional survey is first step in planning followed by analysis of the survey data and ways in
which it should be organized to be most relevant for planning decision.

This analysis should be organized in different sectors within a conceptual framework based on the
particular potentialities for development of the region under study.
This framework may emphasize the urban aspect of the regional development planning as in the case of
a city-centered region.

This means guiding the industrial plans and employment to specific urban centres in terms of a national
and regional developmental policy and strategy

It also means controlling the form and growth of new cities as well as the development of existing one

The thousand villages and urban centres are scattered throughout Nepal creating a pattern making their
adequate servicing both difficult and costly.

Hat are the alternatives for overall development and acceleration of improvement in the living
standards of this rural population?

1. Nucleate series of villages around common urban services in the hill regions.
2. To regroup a portion of rural population in selected larger agricultural units creating a viable
economic unit for full provision of urban services and for intensive agricultural development.
This relocation of population could best take place in Terai where land is abundant and could be
supported by industrial development in the vicinity of the E-W highway along the foothills.
3. Promote the growth of selected urban centres to become development poles within the
economy and, through the application of regional development planning, to integrate the
surrounding villages as part of a city-centered region based on the implementation of improved
agricultural techniques and industrial development.

The above proposed alternatives depend upon a sound population distribution policy which could be
established as the result of considering certain factors forming a part of the overall regional survey such
as

1. A natural resource surveys

2. Land capability survey including soil classifications, development potential of cultivable land
through irrigation and its accessibility to the transport network
3. Industrial location and adequate sites for industries

 Achieving a balanced growth of urban and rural areas within single region and throughout the
country is an important aim in application of regional planning techniques.
 This balanced growth doesn’t mean equal or uniform but means development of areas in views
of their potentials as modified by the nature of national or regional goals and policies.
 These techniques will also help to determine the nature of contribution each region would
make to the totality of the country by defining its potentialities, its resources and population
balance to be achieved

Growth centres

 Centres should be located in both hills and in Terai

  Role of these growth centres would be to facilitate the transition of rural population into urban
employment and to develop marketing and service centre for regional population
 The centres in the hills would be linked to Terai centre and would serve as distribution centres
for agriculture-based industries, government services and the distribution of consumer goods to
the surrounding rural population
 The Terai centre would provide primarily industrial employment to the presently agricultural
populations in Terai and the hills
 Such centres would require minimum infrastructure though not necessarily equally distributed
but provided with basic infrastructure such as banking facilities, medical facilities, agricultural
processing industries, government services, airports, roads, storage and warehousing for grains,
dairy and meet storage, shortwave communication.
 This back and forth linkage will create a climate for the balance economic growth of each region
ad also accelerate development potentials in agriculture.

Development of potential city- centre regions

 Transportation plays an important role for the accelerated development of potential city-centre
regions as links within and between regions and also facilitate exploitation of natural resources
necessary for industrial development and it should be planned in comprehensive basis. These
facilities should coordinate and integrate the movement of passengers and goods in efficient
manner using most economical way.
 Furthermore, food distribution should also be planned comprehensively.
 Regional airport must be planned to provide maximum accessibility to entire region
 Village co-operatives should be encouraged to become centres for the purchase of agricultural
supplies, machineries and consumer goods
 Recreational areas should be improved or developed and appropriate educational and health
facilities must be planned as to the level and quantity required for both urban and rural
population
 The networks must be designed to anticipate future levels and patterns of needs within various
sectors.

Comprehensive regional planning techniques should be attempted to integrate power a d water

distribution networks with other development requirements such as irrigation, and off-peak use of
electricity.

“the basic premises of the concept of city-centered or urbanized region as a pole of socio-economic
developments are that important growth potentials and migration movements must be anticipated and
that an adequate physical structure must be planned to cater them within selected regions.”

Hence for regional development planning will accelerate and facilitate the process of surveying both the
overall and localized potentials of country.
In second phase after data collection comprehensive development plans for specific regions of the
country must include three broad fields of recommendations integrating economic, social and physical
planning:

1. Economic aspects in the sectors of agriculture, industry, trade and services, etc.
2. Infrastructure aspects including highways, railways, ropeways, air transport, electricity, water
supply and sanitation facilities,
3. Social service aspects concerning housing, school, medical facilities, and recreational areas.

The central purpose of regional development planning would be to formulate policies for specific
regions and arrive at plans integrating the resultant programs elaborated for the sectors mentioned
above.

As a region with good potential as well as great need for the coordination and integration of its
development, Kathmandu valley was chosen in order to test and demonstrate the application of this
methodology within the framework and goals of the national development plan.

Nation setting
Shape, size and location of Nepal

1. Physical characteristics:
 Wide range of terrains, 80% of the country covered by hills and mountains
 Lowland, churia hills, Mahabharat lekh, Himalayas, tibetian mariginal mountains in western
and central Nepal.
 Kathmandu valley located in midlands
2. Climate
 Humid tropical climate in terai and churia hills
 Moist sub-tropical climate
 A temperate climate
 A tundra climate in higher elevation
 A dessert type of climate in northern part of Gandaki zone
 Rainfall
3. Cultural background:
 Successive migration of mongoloid groups from Northeast and Caucasoid people from
southwest
 Language
 Cultural diversity
4. Ethnic groups:
5. Population and settlement: demography, settlement pattern and housing type, local culture and
building materials.Major urban concentration in Kathmandu city, Patan, Bhadgaon, Biratnagar,
Nepalgunj, Birgunj
6. Agriculture: hill region shows deficit while terai produces surplus cereal grain, population
increasing in hills rapidly thus deficit problem increasing.
7. Circulation pattern: the three trans Himalayan rivers-koshi, kali and karnali, economic
importance increasing to south-terai- argricultural potential of the region. Low land migration
during winter, trade with Tibet, modern transport and communication in Nepal
8. Transportation infrastructure:
a. Highways:Tribhuwan Rajpath, Arniko Rajpath significant both economically and politically,
East west highway and definitely needed internal communication linkage.
b. Railways: In Terai
c. Ropeways: Hetauda Kathmandu- ropeways
d. Waterways: very limited use in Terai for some movement of rice, paddy and general cargo
to and from India during wet season, floating logsout of hill forestd to Terai
e. Air transport: high mountains deep valley- difficult, Kathmandu, Bhairahawa, Pokhara,
Biratnagar, Simra. TIA
9. Power supply: hydropower and diesel power supplies, ongoing hydropower projects
10. Economic condition: Nepal’s GDP, per capita income, housing standards, urban population
concentration, industrial concerns located in or near Terai’s urban centre, performance of
industries severely inhibited by scarcity of indigenous raw materials, trained managerial
personnel, knowledge of markets and supply problems inherent in limited infant communication
and transportation system
11. Resources:
a. Forests:
b. Hydropower electricity
12. Tourism: important industry in Nepal, international airport, cultural heritage and natural beauty
Physical development plan for Kathmandu Valley
Physical development plan for Kathmandu valley is premised upon two functional objectives:

1. Plan must serve directly as a development tool for the region to which it is applied and indirectly
as a program that positively affecting the socio-economic development of entire country
2. The plan must be a pilot program- a regional physical planning model- which will provide
relevant experience necessary for future regional planning efforts in other areas of Nepal

The fundamental social object of the plan was to expand the opportunity available to people of
Kathmandu valley for effective choices at every juncture in their lives and meaningful participation in
development of their country.

1. Development tools for Kathmandu valley region

As a development tool for Kathmandu, the plan seeks to capitalize on the manpower resources,
location, man-made and natural features of the environment and historic legacies of the region
in providing a focusing framework for orderly, balanced growth.
Plan investigates as much detail of the social, economic, and physical assets and liabilities of the
valley followed by analysis and then make recommendation which will serve as guidance for
socio economic growth in terms of economic changes, population increase, social development
level, and spatial distribution of population and activities

Two fundamental stage of plan’s execution

a. Short term: assist to alleviate immediate and pressing problems

b. Long term: to establish a framework for balanced growth in ktm valley for 20-30 years.

In both stages, the physical planning for Kathmandu valley is a methodology for the spatial delineation
and coordination of comprehensive development activities enabling the optimum allocation and
utilization of the scare capital and natural resources available.

STEPS

The physical development plan aims to create an analytic policy and methodological framework through
which the delineation of the region’s important problems with the formation of solutions to them
becomes possible

Solutions proposed by the plan then takes the form of spatially allocated sectoral programs and projects
(circulation and utilities, public services and institution, production and employment, tourism and
recreation, etc.) as well as cross sectoral programs and policies (population distribution, land use,
urbanization and housing).

These then form short-term and long-term components of comprehensive physical development plan
and are key factors defining the optimum combination of coordinated and integrated socio-economic
activities which is so vital to the efficient utilization of valley’s scarce resources.

“concomitant with the facilitation of improved administration and planning techniques by Kathmandu
valley physical plan will be its contribution to the physical development of Nepal as a whole.
 2. Pilot project
As a pilot project for regional planning it will hopefully serve as a useful vehicle for developing
effective methodologies of planning, coordination and implementation at regional level that is
appropriate for Nepal’s unique people, environment and cultural heritage.

3. Constrains on scope and content

The scope and depth of physical development plan has been severely limited by several
constraints such as current program commitments, limited previous experience and time, a lack
of information and the absence of active cooperation.

Problems embodies in Physical development plans

 Lack of data describing the socio-economic and physical features of the valley,
 the inaccuracy of the minimal information that is available and
 Difficulty of securing the active cooperation of other departments and agencies in the
formulation of the plan.

Why Kathmandu valley? Justification

a. Geographically compact
b. It has high concentration of institutes and services
c. It presently has high rate of development
d. The availability of information and
e. The present of central government agencies and personnel for executing and evaluating the
plan.

Unique features of Kathmandu Valley as determinant of the Physical Development Plan

 it is uniqueness of Nepal that it requires the development of physical planning methodology

more appropriate to indigenous socio-economic conditions than the methodologies offered by
planning techniques founded upon occidental experience and theoretical framework.