The Kathmandu Metropolitan City has resumed pavement widening in the New Road area from Wednesday.

Officials at the Public Construction Department under the metropolis said that the contractor resumed the work after the High Court, Patan issued an interim order paving the way for following an interim order from the High Court, Patan allowing the work to proceed.

“Now there is no obstruction from locals nor from federal government agencies,” said Baburam Bhattarai, a member of the City Planning Commission under the KMC. “We hope that the project will be completed at the earliest.”

The metropolis had awarded a contract to widen the sidewalks by 1.5 metres along both sides of the road section between the New Road gate and the Juddha Statue roundabout in the last fiscal year. The work started in the New Road area in May, but a jurisdictional dispute between the city office and the Road Division, Kathmandu, caused the project to come to a halt.

The division confiscated contractors’ equipment, and the federal government deployed police in to prevent the city office from working. Some local residents, too, had demonstrated against the pavement widening plan. The division had even repaired the parts of roads cut for pavement expansion.

And on June 9, the metropolis moved the High Court challenging the breach of jurisdiction by the road division, which is a federal agency, and its intervention in the city’s work.

City officials were already frustrated by the years-long delay by federal agencies in completing another project, the widening of Kathmandu’s Ring Road in the Kalanki-Maharajgunj section, which has caused huge inconvenience to the public due to dust and mud.

Mayor Balendra Shah then directed city officials to dump truckloads of dirt from the Ring Road section in front of the main entrance of the Road Division office at Minbhawan, accusing federal agencies of delaying the work.

The 8.2km Kalanki-Maharajgunj section was set to be widened by the Chinese government, and the work was initially planned to start in early 2020, but the project has not progressed even after years due to Covid and delays in clearing the power poles and in some cases structures along the right of way.

Regarding the jurisdiction dispute over the sidewalk widening work in the city, a division bench of judges Dhurba Raj Nand and Prakash Kharel at the High Court Patan issued an interim order in favour of the metropolis on Sunday.

The City office has already widening pavements by 1 metre on both sides in the Bhrikutimandap area.

“Neither did the federal government agency intervene, nor did locals object while expanding pavement in the Bhrikutimandap area by narrowing the road,” said Bhattarai. “Further decisions on pavement widening in other areas like Thamel, Handigaun and others will be taken after collecting public feedback.”

Officials said that the long-term plan is to restrict motor vehicles altogether in the New Road area due to heavy pedestrian traffic.

“We have also been working to find a solution to the parking problem and weighing various options including setting up multi-storey parking facilities,” said Bhattarai, who is also an urban planner.

Officials said that pavements in the New Road area, which always remain crowded, should be widened to ensure free pedestrian movement. Officials claimed that New Road residents have also requested the city office to expand the pavement.

According to city officials, local residents have, from time to time, complained about feeling unsafe and experiencing sexual harassment on the narrow and crowded sidewalks.