After the country adopted the federal system of governance, the government in May 2018 determined the jurisdiction of each government by classifying the roads. However, disputes related to jurisdiction between the federal, provincial, and local levels have emerged in many road projects.
As confusion continues to exist, all three tiers of the government have been allocating budgets for the same road project. To end this dilemma, MoPIT has started the process to reclassify the roads to clearly define the jurisdiction of each government. Principally, there is a policy arrangement that national highways should be looked after and operated by the federal government, province-level highways by the provincial government and local-level roads by the local level. As per the Appendix 5 of the Constitution of Nepal, only national highways come under the purview of the federal government. This means other smaller highways and roads and bridges are the responsibility of provincial or local governments. However, the policy is not followed. Even eight years after the constitution promulgation and five years after the elections that installed three tiers of the government, not all the smaller road projects have been handed over to the provincial governments and local levels. MoPIT has formed a committee headed by Joint Secretary Arjun Jung Thapa that has already started its task to reclassify the roads. Currently, there are around 80 national highways including the Prithvi Highway, East-West Highway, North-South Corridors, and Mid-Hill Highway. According to Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala, the reclassification of roads will end the confusion over the jurisdiction of roads that has hampered the development of roadways connectivity in the country. "In some roads, all three governments are working, allocating budgets while in some important road projects, none of the governments have allocated resources," said Jwala. "Now, we will prepare a clear policy plan that will define the jurisdiction." Govt to extend renewal time of driving license The government is extending the period for renewing driving licenses to 10 years from the current five years. In a press meet organized at MoPIT on Tuesday, minister Jwala informed that the process of extending the driving license renewal period to 10 years has been moved forward. He said that the ministry has decided to extend the renewal period after holding discussions with all agencies concerned.
