Spaces Vol 1 Is 6

REPORT
engineering drawings of the road and bridges. According to
the report, the total length of the road will be 66 kms and it
will have a right of way of 60m. There will be six-lane fast
track, two-lane service track on either side and a bicycle track
and pedestrian walkway on either side. Sufficient landscaping
will be done to maintain greenery within the right of way.
There will be 22 bridges and 56 culverts. The longest bridge
near Chobhar will be 120m long.
Due to the topography and local conditions, the Outer Ring
Road will be merged to the existing Ring Road in Balaju area.
Sewers, water mains and electrical distribution lines will be
located along the road. Similarly, telecommunication cables
(preferably optical fibre) will be laid along the road. This
approach will help in reducing the individual project cost and
facilitate operation and maintenance of the utilities. The Outer
Ring Road can be constructed in different stages based on the
detailed project report.
Chinese assistance will be available for the road construction
only and the land acquisition cost has to be borne by His
Majesty’s Government. The total cost of land acquisition is
estimated to be Rs. 3 billion, which the government cannot
bear alone. The direct beneficiaries of the project have to
share the cost of land by contributing the land required for
the road free of cost.
LAND POOLING (See Issue 1 Nov-Dec 2004)
Land Pooling, a model of town planning, has been successful
in small-scale land development projects in Kathmandu Valley
and urban planners are now testing this model in large-scale
town planning projects. In this concept, landowners are
compensated by returning their developed land with lesser
area but of higher value. No landowners are thereby displaced
and prospective buyers will also get developed plots.
The Proposed Harisiddhi New Town Project popularly known
as “New Kathmandu” has been planned as per land pooling
concept. The same concept is very much feasible in the
proposed Outer Ring Road. Land pooling will also facilitate
infrastructure development of the entire project area, which
is planned to be 250m on either side of the road. Buildings
falling on the right of way of the road will be compensated
according to the current market rate. Special resettlement policy
will be formulated to address the issue of socially disadvantaged
people affected by the project. The government has already
initiated land pooling schemes in different locations of the
Valley, falling in the alignment of the Outer Ring Road. These
include Kamerotar in Thimi, Gothatar and Jorpati and Kirtipur
in Kathmandu. Similarly Harisidhhi New Town Project, as
mentioned earlier, is in the pipeline. These land pooling schemes
will be taken as demonstration projects, which will be replicated
to other areas of the Valley. Although land pooling is a time
consuming and complex process, Nepalese planners have gained
enough experience by successfully completing more than 12
such projects in the Valley. The response of the people and
politicians has been very encouraging.
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND THE TOWNSCAPE
The planning concept of the neighbourhood will be combined
with the vision of the built environment of the ORR corridor.
The rendering of the neighbourhood design by architects will
help the planners to plan the infrastructure. Architects and
urban designers will be hired to prepare the proposed townscape
and architectural guidelines at all levels of planning units, such
as neighbourhoods, blocks and clusters. The proposed planning
concept envisages the creation of a lively built environment
at the neighbourhood level and a modern and architecturally
pleasing townscape at the city level. On one hand the hierarchy
of roads will be maintained to serve different planning units
such as clusters, blocks and neighbourhoods, similar hierarchy
will also be maintained in the provision of open spaces. The
planning concept will also incorporate beautification of the
service roads along the main road and intersection of the
Outer Ring Road and radial roads.
It should be noted that planned settlements might not be feasible
on the entire length of the ORR due to ground conditions of
Kathmandu Valley. It is expected that planned development
will take place in about 60 percent of the length of the road.
However, the ORR project will be a milestone in the
development of the Valley for many years. S
88 SEP-OCT 2005 SPACES