Indo-Nepal transport pact ready ahead of Prachanda visit

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 19 : As Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, the new Prime Minister of Nepal, prepares to undertake his maiden bilateral visit to Beijing for the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, India is getting ready to play host to the new incumbent soon. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) hopes to seal some crucial agreements during the expected visit, the dates for which are still unknown, and has revived a 2004-05 bilateral Motor Vehicle Agreement (MVA) to that end.

India and Nepal are planning passenger buses, car and taxi services along some 14 identified routes. While a similar proposal mooted in 2004 never took off with transporter bodies in Nepal alleging a bias towards India, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu has signalled that the political environment is currently more favourable for the agreement.

The proposed routes will not only connect Kathmandu to New Delhi but also help develop the Buddhist circuit in Bihar, provide access to the North-East as well as areas in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Darjeeling, Kalim-pong, Kolkata, Bareilly, Roorkee, Gaya, Varanasi, Rajgir, Lucknow, Patna and Delhi will be among the destinations connected to Nepali cities like Kathmandu, Pokhara, Janak-pur, Dharan and Dhangarhi.

India on its part will be ready with the complete agreement with the views and comments of the Nepal Government incorporated in it so it can be signed and operationalised during the Nepal PM’s visit. Since this agreement pertains to passenger services only, a separate agreement will have to be drafted for trucks and other goods services, says the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways which is working on the MVA.

The Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Home Affairs which have a few concerns regarding the agreement have been asked to sort them out within the next two weeks. The MoD is concerned about the ‘security implications of the agreement’ that will allow passenger traffic between the two countries along as many as 14 routes and has issued a circular to Defence Commands to carry out ‘detailed scrutiny’ for the same in a week’s time.

The MHA on the other hand, wants the BSF besides Customs and police in the loop. They also want the Integrated Check Posts system, soon to be implemented across all international borders, to be incorporated in the draft MVA.

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