An emergency cabinet meeting on Friday appointed Sthapit as Town Development Commissioner of the KVTDA for the next five years. [break]
With the KVTDA regulations coming into effect in March, the authority replaced Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee (KVTDC), which was leading a drive to widen valley roads by demolishing illegally-built structures, since April 13.
However, due to the delay by the government in appointing town development commissioner, the KVTDA failed to come into existence for almost one month.
The executive committee of the KVTDA, now headed by Sthapit, consists of the chiefs of all three municipalities in the Valley, the Kathmandu chiefs of Department of Roads (DoR), Department of Survey (DoS), Nepal Electricity Authority and Nepal Telecom (NTC), Department of Archeology (DoA), among others, as its members.
As the newly instituted KVTDA has members from all concerned agencies, it is expected to carry out all development works, including the ongoing road expansion drive, more effectively.
Although Kathmandu Upatyaka Development Authority Act was passed in 2045 B.S., the KVTDA was yet to be formed in lack of regulations. The regulations were drafted and approved by the cabinet amid the ongoing road expansion drive led by the KVTDC.
Sthapit is regarded as a man of action hailed by many for his courageous decisions including building the Maitighar Mandala and carrying out demolitions for widening roads during his stint as the mayor of Kathmandu.
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