Nepal Army has not been able to build a barracks in Korala (Nepal-China border point), Mustang due to a delay on part of the Ministry of Land Reform and Management in providing the required land.

According to Army sources, the ministry had been delaying in sending a file of the public land to the Cabinet. The file has been stuck in the ministry for the last 10 months. 

The Army had taken an initiative to set up the barracks in Korala in February this year. The Mustang District Administration has allocated 1,000 ropanies of land to the Army in Lomagthang for the purpose. The District Land Survey Office (DLSO) has already sent details of the land to the Bhimdal Battalion in Jomsom, the district headquarters, after conducting a survey. The battalion had agreed last year to shift a platoon in Korala. Talking over the phone from Kathmandu, NA Spokesperson Tara Bahadur Karki said they will start construction works of the barracks as soon as the government provides land.

The NA has planned to build the barracks in Lomangthang, 30 km far away from the Korala check point. The area is also the main trade centre of Upper Mustang. The Chinese Army has been monitoring the crossing on the Chinese side of the border. China has also installed several CC cameras to monitor the border areas.

Minister for Land Reform and Management Bikram Pandey said that he would soon forward the file to the Cabinet after learning about the cause of the delay. The government had decided last year to construct buildings for a border outpost and army barracks to tighten the security along the border. The local administration has also allocated 100 ropanies of land to the Armed Police Force.

DLSO chief Khimlal Gautam said the NA can start the construction of the barracks after a Cabinet approval. “We have already completed our works at the district level,” he said, adding that the land certificates could be made only after the Cabinet decision.