New school building in Jhapa to be constructed with Indian grant assistance under development partnership programme…reports Asian Lite News
India is helping construct a new school building in eastern Nepal as part of its ongoing development partnership with the neighbouring country, with work beginning on a major education infrastructure project in Jhapa district.
The foundation stone for the new building at Shree Janata Secondary School in Gauradaha Municipality was jointly laid on Thursday by Hikmat Kumar Karki, Gitanjali Brandon and Chhatrapati Subedi.
According to a statement issued by the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, the project is being built with financial assistance of nearly NPR 58 million from the Government of India.
The infrastructure project is being implemented under the High Impact Community Development Project framework through Gauradaha Municipality in Jhapa District.
Officials from both countries said the project would help strengthen educational infrastructure in the region and improve learning conditions for students and teachers.
Chief Minister Karki and other local stakeholders welcomed India’s continued support for Nepal’s development initiatives and expressed confidence that the new facilities would create a better educational environment in the municipality.
The Indian Embassy said the project reflects the close partnership between India and Nepal and highlights cooperation in key sectors such as education and community development.
“India and Nepal, as close neighbours, continue to maintain broad based cooperation across multiple sectors,” the embassy said in its statement.
It added that community focused projects supported by India continue to contribute to Nepal’s infrastructure development, particularly in priority sectors identified by the Nepali government.
The High Impact Community Development Project programme has become a major component of the India Nepal development partnership over the years, supporting grassroots infrastructure and welfare initiatives across the Himalayan nation.
The programme, launched in 2003, was previously known as the Small Development Projects scheme. It supports local level infrastructure and community projects implemented through local authorities in Nepal.
The initiative covers a range of sectors, including education, healthcare, sanitation, drinking water, rural electrification, hydropower and river management works.
In January 2024, India and Nepal agreed to significantly increase the funding ceiling under the programme, raising financial assistance for individual projects to NPR 20 million from the earlier limit of NPR 5 million.
The move was seen as a major boost to bilateral development cooperation and aimed at accelerating the implementation of community based projects across Nepal.
India has supported several infrastructure and development projects in Nepal in recent years as part of efforts to deepen people to people ties and strengthen bilateral relations between the two neighbouring countries.
