Annex

Context

Kathmandu-Terai/Madhes Fast Track (Expressway) Project is a mega highway project considered as an

“infrastructure of national pride” being constructed in Nepal.1 The 72.5 km long Fast Track runs along the
Bagmati River corridor and is expected to cut the travel distance from the capital Kathmandu to the south
of the country by 159 km as per existing roads.

The Fast Track originates at Sano Khokana of Lalitpur Metropolitan City (south of Kathmandu) and
stretches to Nijghad in Bara district in Nepal’s southern plains (known as Terai/Madhes). There it will meet
with the East-West (Mahendra) Highway of the country. The Fast Track is significantly contentious among
indigenous Newar communities of Khokana and adjoining Bungamati towns in Lalitpur where some 6km
of the Fast Track will slice through farms and religious trust (Guthi) lands as well as ritual routes and sites
of locals.2 They have been concerned about impacts on their lands, livelihoods and cultures, among others,
due to the Fast Track that they have repeatedly raised with the relevant authorities. However, their
concerns have not been addressed even in the recently revised alignment of the Fast Track endorsed by
the Government of Nepal in September 2019.3

Besides cutting the travel time by an hour, the Fast Track is also expected to serve Nepal’s proposed
second international airport – Nijgadh International Airport – in the south of the country. The two
infrastructure projects are closely dependent on each other for economic viability.4 While the fate of the
airport is still uncertain, the plans for the airport have been widely criticized for its socio-environmental
costs with the need to fell 2.4 million trees and relocation of around 1,500 landless households.5 In
December 2019, Nepal’s Supreme Court issued directive order to the Government of Nepal to halt all
ongoing work, including felling of trees, at the construction site of the airport.6

In 2006, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had provided technical assistance to investigate feasibility of
an investment program of the Fast Track in 2006 as North-South connectivity option for Nepal to enhance
trade between India and China, which laid a basis for taking the Expressway forward.7 An Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Fast Track was conducted based on the information from the Government
and ADB and their regulations or policies and submitted to the Government by March 2015. Even when
the Fast Track was being studied, “there was significant objection” to taking productive agricultural land
for the Fast Track Highway in Khokana as noted by the consultants in the EIA report8. As per the report,
the alignment on the west bank of the Bagmati River has significant advantages that avoid valuable
agricultural lands in Khokana. The official copy of the EIA report is yet to be received from the Government
authorities despite repeated requests by the affected families’ representatives. Many locals of Khokana
and Bungamati demand that the Fast Track be constructed along the west back of the River to avoid any
impact on their agricultural lands and closely-knit communities.

1 https://www.nepalarmy.mil.np/fasttrack/home
2 https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/our-land-is-us-we-are-our-land/; https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/fast track-brings-
fear-of-displacement-to-khokana/
3 https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/kathmandu-tarai-fast-track-dpr-okayed/
4 http://www.spotlightnepal.com/News/Article/Kathmandu-Terai-Fast-Track
5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXNpwVn6lQw; https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/features/nijgadh-airport-to-be-

catastrophic-for-nepals-tiger-and-elephant-populations/
6 https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/supreme-court-bars-felling-of-trees-in-nijgadh/
7 https://www.adb.org/projects/40011-012/main#project-overview
8 http://www.mopit.gov.np/files/download/Printed%20EIA%20report%20of%20Fast%20Track%20Jestha%2072.pdf

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Besides the Fast Track, Kathmandu Outer Ring Road9, Bagmati River Basin Improvement Project10 and
Thankot-Bhaktapur Transmission Line Project11 (which has been on hold since 2004 due to community
opposition) under Rural Electrification, Distribution and Transmission Project12 are other infrastructure
projects, which concern the communities. The latter two are also ADB-financed projects. The
communities' representatives claim that those projects together will displace the Newar community of
the area entirely, whose have been affected due to land acquisitions for various public purposes at
different times in the past.13

After years of delay due to uncertainty on the Project’s modality and financing, the Government of Nepal
finally decided to give the responsibility of construction management of the Fast Track to the Nepali Army
in April 2017.14 Subsequently, the construction of the Expressway was started in other sections of the Fast
Track but the Khokana are although the Detailed Project Report (DPR) was only approved in 2019.15 Ten
Army camps have been set up along the Fast Track alignment, including one in the north of Khokana just
off the Sikali hill, which is of cultural and historical significance for the locals as well as Newar and other
communities in Kathmandu valley. Involvement of the Army in the project has led to insecurity and fear
among Khokana locals opposing the project. It has also raised questions about the role of the Army in
construction works vis-à-vis its influence in other sectors not related to security as well as corruption in
the project with involvement of some high-level officials of the Army, which is above the anti-corruption
laws of the country.16

Loss of lands and livelihoods

Land acquisition notice for the Project was published in March 2016. Khokana and Bungamati
representatives, including local political leaders, had immediately submitted a complaint to the Ministry
of Home Affairs citing disagreements over absence of consultation among affected communities about
the project design as well as impacts. In September that year, the local representatives also submitted a
complaint to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal demanding respect and protection
of their rights.17 Subsequently, various meetings and interactions of the community representatives with
the local government representatives, concerned parliamentarians (including a parliamentary inquiry)
and relevant Ministry and Nepali Army officials over the years.

At the same time, affected families and community representatives of Khokana and Bungamati together
with activists have also organized protests rallies and demonstrations against the project. In 2018, locals
and activists protested outside the newly set up Army camp in Khokana.18 They have also joined affected
communities of other infrastructure construction (particularly road expansion) across Kathmandu valley
against the government’s push for the Fast Track project affecting their settlements that have cultural and

9 http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-01-25/works-on-chobhar-satungal-stretch-to-start-in-feb.html
10 https://www.adb.org/projects/43448-013/main
11 https://www.adb.org/projects/documents/rural-electrification-distribution-and-transmission-project-resettlement-plan-

thankot
12 https://www.adb.org/projects/29471-013/main
13 https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/our-land-is-us-we-are-our-land/; https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/fast track-

brings-fear-of-displacement-to-khokana/
14 https://kathmandupost.com/national/2017/08/12/fast-track-project-handed-over-to-army-officially
15 https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/kathmandu-tarai-fast-track-dpr-okayed/
16 https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/fast-track-brings-fear-of-displacement-to-khokana/
17 https://cemsoj.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/khokana-newars-complaint-nhrc-human-rights-fast-track-highway/
18 https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/fast-track-brings-fear-of-displacement-to-khokana/

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Annex

historical importance and calling for removal of the Army from Khokana.19 However, despite all those
efforts, their concerns and demands are yet to be effectively addressed.

Though the Government has recently changed the alignment of the Fast Track to be closer to the east
bank of the River from its earlier plans, that will still impact the lands of hundreds of families, including
Guthi (religious trust or communal) lands in Khokana and Bungamati. While great majority of the locals
had not accepted compensation to give up their land under the earlier notice, the Government has
published acquisition notice of additional 400 pieces of land mostly in Khokana and Bungamati (some in
nearby Dukuchhap area) in December 2019.20 After the alignment change, it will reportedly require
compensation for further 338 ropanis (1 ropani = 508.72 sp.m.) of land in Khokana area.21

Khokana, where the zero point of the Fast Track is proposed and the project faces the greatest opposition,
is a small historical indigenous Newar town. Majority of the locals are farmers and they utilize their spare
time weaving, knitting and hand sewing while it is also widely known for its traditional mustard-oil seed
industry.22 Dependent on agriculture, the land is the most essential part of life and livelihood for Khokana
locals. But Khokana stand to lose almost 60% of its fertile farmland and much of its heritage to the new
infrastructure projects (map).23 They will result in extreme difficulty for the people to survive as they will
not be able to sustain their livelihood.

In Sano Khokana where the expressway is supposed to start, Asha Maharjan will lose all his property.
The fertile soil here is an important part of his family’s history and he remembers ploughing it with his
parents when he was young. His eight-member family still relies on harvests for their food and income.
“Maybe they can re-route it through non-arable land,” Maharjan says hopefully. “It will save us from
being homeless.” 24

Similarly, Nati kaji Maharjan, 75, had to give up his land for the prison that was never built. Now, it will
be the Fast Track that will rob him of the remaining land.” We are farmers. We depend on the land,
without it how are we to eat?” asks Maharjan.” How can they take our lan and sell it to someone else?”25

Destruction of cultural and historical sites

The Fast Track will begin at Sikalichaur (open field off a temple) where the annual Sikali Jatra festival is
celebrated. That is unique to Khokana as the local do not celebrate Dashain (a major Hindu festival marked
across Nepal) but mark Sikali Jatra – a five-day festival with masked dances for Goddess Rudrayani and
other deities. The Fast Track will then go through Pingah, the funeral area, Ku Dey, Jugunti, Machaga
Bagar, Chankhutirtha – all important parts of Khokana’s cultural circuit on the route to the next town of
Bungamati.

19 https://kathmandupost.com/visual-stories/2018/12/20/khokana-bungmati-locals-protest-against-governments-move-to-
demolish-historical-settlements
20 https://www.facebook.com/arbu007/posts/4079175582099923
21 https://pressreader.com/article/281526522750099
22 https://honeyguideapps.com/blog/khokana-nepal
23 https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/our-land-is-us-we-are-our-land/
24 https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/our-land-is-us-we-are-our-land/
25 https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/our-land-is-us-we-are-our-land/

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Ku Dey is where the people of Khokana believe their ancestors first established the settlement—before
moving up the ridge to its present location, says Ashoj Maharjan of Lumbini Buddhist University: “It is
an important archaeological site, 3,000 years old, which predates Khokana.” 26

Similarly, at Jugunti, the Jugi community of Newars will lose the cemetery where they have been burying
their ancestors for generations. At Chankhu Tirtha, the expressway will go through the land where the
final rites of the priests of Rato Machindranath – the deity of rain that has the longest chariot festival in
Nepal – are performed.

Conservationists say the new infrastructure can easily be realigned to the west bank of the Bagmati
without much extra cost, which would preserve heritage sites. Says Ashoj: “We are not against
development, but they are forcing projects on us that threaten our way of life.”

“Without the land we won’t be able to continue with any of the rituals,” says Gyan Bhagat, “and the
road will cause us to lose all our land. Our culture, our traditions will die.” The community will also lose
the temple of its ancestral deity, Pingha, and the expressway will take away the funeral area from where
music is played during cremations.

People in Khokana have spiritual, social, cultural and economic connection with the land. At the same
time, Khokana can be considered as one of the living museums of Nepal that recalls medieval time when
the country was ruled by Malla kings.27 Even small stone and pebbles carry a distinct history of that place.
It was once nominated as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1996.28

The whole settlement is filled with tangible and intangible heritage – many of which are historical and
unique to the town. One example is a ritual conducted by Pujari Macha Guthi whereby eight young boys
conduct a grand puja (ritual) of Goddess Sikali with puja material collected from all over the village which
is known as “puja thawanegu” by the locals. During the ritual, nobody is allowed in or around the Sikali
temple. Although the Nepali Army claims that they have changed the Fast Track alignment to preserve
Sikali temple and other historical places29, loss of Guthi and other lands will still significantly impact the
cultures.

Also, at Ku Dey one of the archaeologically significant areas of Khokana as locals believe, there are sites
where local perform various rituals – one of which requires the participants to wear a white long dress
(jama and gamchhi). That is similar to ancient Kirat culture (one of the earliest eras of Nepal) suggesting
a long-held connection of the place with historical Kirat, Lichhavi, Malla dynasties. However, contrary to
the claim of locals, Nepal’s Department of Archaeology concluded that there was nothing of
archaeological importance in Ku Dey. In October 2018, the Department stated that if anything of
archaeological value is excavated during construction of the Fast Track, it will be the responsibility of the
constructor to preserve it.30

Thus, the locals themselves carried out preliminary excavation of the area in November and found many
materials and remains with potential archaeological significance, including paved paths below the current

26 https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/our-land-is-us-we-are-our-land/
27 https://www.nepalmtlovers.com/khokana-village-tour.html
28 https://whc.unesco.org/en/statesparties/np
29 https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/kathmandu-tarai-fast-track-dpr-okayed/
30https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/12/14/expressway-to-stay-on-course-despite-khokana-protests

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ground level, clay water pipes alongside the road, a well, and other items, such as oil lamp, vessel, etc.31
However, the Department of Archeology did not pay any attention to the repeated calls of local activists
for preservation of the sites and further excavation asas it is believed that the first settlement in
Kathmandu valley started from this place.

Protests and police repression

Locals of Khokana and Bungamati as mentioned above have been organizing various gatherings, protests
and demonstrations against the Fast Track project over the years. Khokana locals in particularly have
opposed the project in the public hearings for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project
itself in 2009. After the first land acquisition notice in 2016, public actions against the project have
increased – often with other communities facing similar challenges such as urban road expansion affected
families across Kathmandu.32 In one such action, in March 2018, Nepal Police brutally repressed the
peaceful protest and demonstration of Khokana and Bungamati locals against the Fast Track Project
together with the road expansion affected families from across Kathmandu valley. At least six protestors
were injured when police fired seven rounds of tear gas and used water cannon at the peaceful rally in
capital Kathmandu.33 International human rights organizations have voiced concerns against the violations
of the rights of Khokana and Bungamati locals, including against the violent response in the peaceful
protests.34

Nepal Police has also intervened in protests in Bungamati near the project site with heavy force and with
presence of Nepali Army officials35 while the protests outside the army camp in Khokana have also run
high with tension with locals fearful of armed military officials.36 However, the Government has been
adamant that the alignment of the Fast Track will not be changed despite protests of Khokana and
Bungamati locals.37

Project detail

The Government of Nepal has adopted off-the-cuff approach since the beginning of the project when it
first invited the Expression of Interest (EOI) for implementing the Kathmandu Terai Fast Track Road in
1996. Back then, it intended to acquire land only and trust the rest of the responsibilities to a
concessionaire under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model without a governing act. In 2008, the
Government offered only toll-based concession for the project, which was changed in 2012 when it agreed
to provide grant up to 15% of the capital costs in subsidies. In 2014, the Government accepted unsolicited
proposal for the project from the Indian company named Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Service

31
https://rukshanakapali.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Khokana-report.pdf
32
https://kathmandupost.com/visual-stories/2018/12/20/khokana-bungmati-locals-protest-against-governments-
move-to-demolish-historical-settlements
33
https://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/locals-stage-protest-against-road-expansion/;
https://www.efe.com/efe/english/world/police-use-water-cannon-to-disperse-hundreds-of-protesters-in-
kathmandu/50000262-3567258#
34
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-020-2018/; https://iphrdefenders.net/nepal-stop-
use-violence-indigenous-newar-community-uphold-their-rights-peaceful-assembly/
35
https://kathmandupost.com/valley/2018/07/08/after-khokana-bungamati-protests-expressway-works;
https://www.facebook.com/SaveNepaValley/videos/1071348846352075/?v=1071348846352075
36
https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/fast-track-brings-fear-of-displacement-to-khokana/
37
https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2018/12/14/expressway-to-stay-on-course-despite-khokana-
protests

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Annex

(IL&FS) that requested minimum vehicle guarantee scheme on the Expressway. But, subsequently, it re-
advertised for bids for the project.38

In February 2015, the IL&FS won the bid for the Fast Track and signed a memorandum of understanding
with the Government while infrastructure and development experts began criticizing the deal as a
financial risk. At the same time, following the 2015 magnitude earthquake, protests against Nepal’s new
constitution in the southern plains blocked border points, which escalated into undeclared blockade by
India. In October 2015, Nepal’s Supreme Court also ordered the deal to halt, citing concerns over national
interest. A new Government cancelled all agreements with the IL&FS for construction of the Fast Track in
2016 and announced that it will construct the project by itself.39 In 2017, the Government of decided to
give the responsibility of construction management of the Fast Track to the Nepali Army that had earlier
opened the track of the highway. The same year, then Prime Minister Prachanda foundation stone for the
Fast Track was laid in Nijgadh.

The IL&FS had already prepared the Detailed Project Report for the Fast Track, but when the Army offered
less than a third of their asked price of NPR 608 million (USD 5.8 million), it led to a fallout where IL&FS’s
DPR was ultimately rejected. As a result, the IL&FS has claimed NPR 2.37 billion in compensation for the
preparation of the DPR from the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport since the agreement
was that the company would not charge any amount for the DPR if it was awarded the contract to build
the Fast Track.40

On the other hand, the Nepali Army commissioned a South Korean company Soosung Engineering &
Consulting Company to prepare a new DPR at the cost of NPR 70.45 million, which was approved in 2019.41
However, the Army had begun construction of the Fast Track work even before preparation of the DPR,
which reduced the total length of the highway to 72.5 km from 76.2 km earlier. The four lane highway
with 50 meters right of way will be 25 meters in hill and 27 meters in the Terai. It will have 87 bridges (for
which the Army has already called international bids and shortlisted six international companies – five
from China and one from Turkey). Similarly, three tunnels will be constructed at Mahadev Danda (3.355
km), Dhedre (1.630 km) and Lendanda (1.430 km) of Makwanpur district, for which international bidding
is yet to begin. 42 At the same time, the project estimated to cost NPR 175 billion, which is NPR 63.19
billion more than the earlier estimated of NPR 112 billion.

Earlier, in 2006, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had provided technical assistance to investigate
feasibility of an investment program for North-South Fast Track project to improve the road links from
Kathmandu to the East-West Highway of Nepal, which laid a basis for taking the Expressway forward.43
Under the project, final report on feasibility study and preliminary designs for the Fast Track was prepared
by the Oriental Consultants in 2008. Based on that, the Kathmandu-Terai/Madhesh Fast Track Road
Project office of the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport as per and the Government
regulations or ADB policies conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Fast Track and
submitted to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment by March 2015 (unofficial copy
obtained).

38 https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2014/12/06/kathmandu-terai-fast-track-from-non-starter-to-national-project/
39 https://www.recordnepal.com/wire/fast-track-brings-fear-of-displacement-to-khokana/
40 https://thehimalayantimes.com/business/ilfs-claims-rs-2-37bn-compensation-for-dpr/
41 https://www.pressreader.com/nepal/peoples-review-9d48/20190911/281526522750099
42https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/kathmandu-tarai-fast-track-dpr-okayed/
43 https://www.adb.org/projects/40011-012/main#project-overview

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