Expansion of road network in Nepal has been in an accelerating trend since the last two decades. Before 2047 BS the only agency involved in construction of roads was the Department of Roads (DoR). DoR then was responsible for the construction of new roads and their maintenance too. But after 2047 BS other agencies like District Development Committees (DDCs) and Municipalities have strongly emerged as new road agencies for the construction of new roads. At this point of time exact road length that has been added to the total network is yet to be authenticated. Department of Roads (DoR) publishes the statistics of Strategic Road Network every year, whereas we are still expecting authenticated data in case of Local Road Network.
After 2047, the fund channeled through the local agencies and through the parliamentarians has mostly been invested on construction of new roads. With the increase in length, we are yet to know about their quality, usability and sustainability. We know that everything that is constructed needs regular maintenance. Most of our roads used to be in poor condition with the lack of sufficient fund.
After the formation of Roads Board Nepal (RBN) in 2059 BS, gradually planned maintenance process is taking shape. For the Strategic Road Network, Department of Roads identifies its maintenance needs through Annual Road Maintenance Plan (ARMP). It is obvious to have a wider gap on demand and supply in a resource constraint economy like ours, but as per the availability of fund, RBN has been gradually fulfilling the hierarchy of maintenance needs. With the realization over the importance of road maintenance, Government of Nepal has been increasing the budgetary allocation every year. But the gap still remains wide and we have to bear in mind that with the available fund, we need to prioritize the work and act accordingly. Immediate intervention will help to reduce the maintenance cost. To plan ahead and initiate procurement process, RBN has been assuring the required fund for Routine and Recurrent Maintenance of Strategic Road Network from the beginning of the fiscal year. But, in the case of Local Road Network, the size of fund provided is not adequate, thus they need to plan appropriately with priority. At the same time their technical capability also need to be reinforced. In recent years, their awareness level in maintenance has been increasing and has managed to establish maintenance culture in these agencies. Also allocation figure is made transparent to local agencies well ahead to prioritize their progress. Many of the agencies are beginning to perform better. We expect their efficiency and sense of ownership to increase so that we may allocate more funds to them in the coming years.
RBN urges the government to raise its fund volume by increasing fuel levy and vehicle registration charge so that the dedicated fund will be used for sustainable road maintenance. Other avenues of fund should also be opened to help in narrowing the gap of demand and supply. We should be clear in mind that if we fail to provide adequate maintenance fund, there will be huge rise in road user costs and eventually we will end up by paying many times more for their maintenance. Thus all the stakeholders should be cautious and contribute from their part for the better road transport system in the country and help to make RBN a truly Second Generation Road Fund. RBN seeks support from all the road users of the country.
Er Ramesh Nath Bastola
Executive Director,
Roads Board Nepal
Email: info@roadsboardnepal.org
Tel: 4493 515 Fax: 4493 542
- MBA (Australia), 2001
- MPA (Nepal), 1998
- Civil Engineer (India), 1985
