Kathmandu: India has extended Nepali rupees 42.95 million (26.98 million INR) grant assistance to Nepal for a new building of a secondary school in Udayapur district, the Indian embassy said on Monday.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian embassy, Nepali Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration (MoFAGA) and Triyuga Municipality for the construction of a new building for Shree Bal Mandir Secondary School, Triyuga Municipality.
The agreement was signed under the Indian government grant assistance on April 5, 2021.
The MoU was signed by the Head of Development Partnership and Reconstruction Wing of the Embassy, Mayor of Triyuga Municipality and Under Secretary from MoFAGA.
The project will be taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDPs) at an estimated cost of NRs 42.95 million under the Nepal-Bharat Maitri Development Partnership programme, the embassy said in a statement.
Since 2003, under the HICDP scheme, earlier known as Small Development Projects, the government of India has taken up over 520 of which 448 projects have been completed in the areas of health, education, drinking water, connectivity, sanitation and creation of other public utilities in across all seven provinces of Nepal.
Out of these, 65 are in Province-1, including seven completed projects in Udayapur District and 8 projects are under various stages of completion.
Proposals for the creation of infrastructure in the priority sectors of the Government of Nepal such as education, health, drinking water, agriculture, sanitation and public utilities, connectivity such as bridges, capacity building and vocational training, health camps in rural/remote areas, etc. and having a cost estimate of less than NRs 5 cr are considered as High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs).
The embassy said India is also reconstructing 71 educational institutions damaged during the 2015 earthquake in eight districts of Nepal under a reconstruction grant of NRs 5800 million. Eight schools have already been completed, work on 62 schools is ongoing and the Tribhuvan University Central Library project is under the tender process.
“As close neighbors, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation. Both countries enjoy old, unwavering, unmatched and multidimensional development partnership. Today’s signing of the MoU reflects continued commitment of the Government of India in complementing the efforts of the Government of Nepal in creating infrastructure in priority sectors,” the embassy said.