The long-running legal dispute regarding the expansion of the main road in the Birgunj metropolitan area under the Tribhuvan Highway has finally been resolved. After the Supreme Court dismissed half a dozen writ petitions filed after the dispute, the way for the expansion of the main road in Birgunj has now been opened.

According to Dhan Bahadur Thapa, an official advocate of the legal branch of the Birgunj Metropolitan City Office, on 28 Falgun last year, a joint bench of Justices Binod Sharma and Mahesh Sharma Poudel had ruled to dismiss the writ petition. The full text of the judgment was made public yesterday, Sunday. With the full text of the judgment, the legal path has been opened for the Road Department to proceed with the expansion of the main road in Birgunj. In the full text, the court has rejected the demand for compensation for the structures within the road boundary and has ruled that the road expansion is legal.

Locals Bharat Prasad Rauniyar, Bhola Shankar Rauniyar, Shanti Devi Rauniyar, Parmananda Prasad Sah Teli, Kundan Kumar Rauniyar, Bimal Kumar Agrawal, Ashok Kumar Agrawal, Pawan Kumar Agrawal, Pankaj Mittal, Madan Prasad Rauniyar, Manoj Raut Kurmi, Savita Devi Kurmi, Kamal Raut Kurmi and Musalami Ansari had filed a writ petition to stop the expansion of the Birgunj section of the Tribhuvan Highway.

The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, the Roads Department, the Chief District Officer Parsa, the District Police Office Parsa and the Land Revenue Office Parsa were also made respondents in the writ petition.

The writ petitioners had demanded that the decision to demolish the houses and properties be quashed, saying that the procedure as per the Land Acquisition Act 2034 BS and the Public Roads Act 2031 BS was not followed while expanding the road. They had also demanded compensation, claiming that the right to equality and right to property under the Constitution had been violated.

The Supreme Court, however, has accepted the arguments of the opposing government bodies. According to the court, the road boundary of the Tribhuvan Highway was determined by a notice published in the Nepal Gazette on 11 Mangsir, 2021, 25-25 meters to the right and left.

Stating that this was also confirmed by another gazette notice dated 20 Chaitra, the court has held that the area is part of a public road. On this basis, the court has concluded that compensation should not be paid for the structures in the said area. The court has also held that the notice published by the Road Department on 20 Asad 2076 is legal. The judgment also explains that even if the map is approved by the municipality, structures within the road boundary are not valid without the approval of the Road Department.

Finally, after all five writ petitions were dismissed, the road expansion from Gandak Chowk in Birgunj Metropolitan City to Powerhouse Chowk, Ghantaghar, Adarsh ​​Nagar, Rajatjayanti Chowk to Miteri Bridge along the Tribhuvan Highway has been opened. The expansion of the main road of Birgunj was stopped due to a long-standing case pending in the court. Meanwhile, in Pathlaiya, Simara, Jitpur and Parwanipur areas, the highway has been expanded by 25-25 meters and a 6-lane road has been constructed.