Kathmandu Valley Development Authority, which is mandated to prepare and implement an integrated physical development plan for the Valley, has been mulling allocation of at least five per cent of land as open space in each ward of the Valley.

A white paper, issued by the KVDA for the valley’s long-term development plan in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, said that locals will have easy access to open spaces designated at the ward level. The plan came after thousands of Valley denizens were forced to camp in the streets, premises of government offices and other risky areas in an unsystematic manner due to the lack of predetermined open spaces. “The KVDA, in collaboration with local residents, will identify potential open spaces in heavily populated areas and special emphasis will be placed on protecting and conserving such spaces,” read the white paper. The KVDA will develop and make public a blueprint or design of the open spaces at the ward level while designating a particular place to live in during or after the disaster. It has also decided to ensure easy access to people to private party palaces, futsals spaces, tennis courts, motor driving training institutes, parking lots, and other commercial establishments in the post-disaster situation. “A policy will be adopted to encourage land owners to keep the front part of their private land open along the trunk roads.

Similarly, the KVDA will urge the government to stop providing public land to professional and community organisations in the Valley. In order to develop systematic urban settlements, the KVDA will identify roads of strategic importance and widen them to a minimum of 12 metres for easy and accessible use during emergencies. “The roads leading to large hospitals and open spaces will be widened as new road links will be proposed for easy mobility of vehicles during and after an emergency,” read the white paper.

The government has already designated 83 open spaces in the Valley for effective humanitarian coordination and response to mega natural disasters, especially earthquakes. The country’s first Humanitarian Staging Area was established on the premises of Tribhuvan International Airport in March. It is the first of the three planned HSAs in Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur and Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Lalitpur.

source: the himalayan times, 7 june 2015