A technical committee is preparing to submit the document of the proposed master plan of the Pashupati within the current fiscal year, and 70 per cent document writing work has completed.
In December, 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) constituted a seven- member technical team led by economist Dr. Chandra Mani Adhikari to prepare the master plan. Initially, the technical committee was given three months to complete its work. But the committee has not completed the same even in five months.
Director General of the Department of Archeology Damodar Gautam said, “The document is ready, but works of holding interactions and discussions with the stakeholders and locals regarding the archaeological, historical, religious and cultural dimensions of the Pashupati area, which should be paid attention while preparing and implementing the master plan have not done yet.”
He blamed the growing cases of COVID-19 for the committee’s inability to hold the discussions with stakeholders.
The committee has achieved 70 per cent success and it will submit the report within the current fiscal year, he added.
Earlier, the Pashupati Area Development Trust had submitted the proposed master plan to the Council of Ministers for approval after its executive council approved it in March 2020.
Then, MoCTCA has instructed the trust to discuss the master plan with locals and formed a three- member task force to study the proposed master plan of the Pashupati Area Development Trust (PADT) in detail and prepare a final report based on the opinions and suggestions of the locals and other stakeholders.
After the three-member task force submitted the report, the current seven-member technical committee was formed to give a final shape to the master plan.
The current master plan is prepared for the overall development and promotion of the Pashupati area and other monuments surrounding the area, said Gautam.
The proposed master plan has also reached the International Relation Committee of the parliament for discussion.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) had instructed the PADT to discuss the master plan with locals after the heritage experts of the committee expressed their dissatisfaction over the proposed plan.
Source : THE RISING NEPAL,
