Kathmandu, Jan 16 (IANS) School infrastructure will be built in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City of Rupandehi district and Jayaprithivi Municipality of Bajhang district in Nepal with Indian assistance, as the foundation stones for the projects were laid at two locations on Friday.

The Indian Embassy said in a statement on Friday that the foundation stone for the construction of the Nayagaun Secondary School building in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, Rupandehi, was laid on Friday.

Suman Shekhar, First Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, and Khel Raj Pandey, Mayor of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, jointly laid the foundation stone for the construction of the project. According to the Embassy, Indian assistance of around NPR 44 million will be provided for the construction of this infrastructure.

Likewise, the foundation stone for the construction of the Shree Satyavadi Secondary School administration and hostel buildings at Bhojpur in Jayaprithivi Municipality, Bajhang, was laid by Narayan Singh, another First Secretary at the Indian Embassy, and Chet Raj Bajal, Mayor of Jayaprithivi Municipality.

According to the Embassy, financial assistance of around NPR 139 million from the Indian government will be provided for the construction of these school infrastructures.

The new facilities will include a three-storeyed administrative block, separate hostels for girls and boys with toilets, and other allied structures.

Both projects have been taken up as High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), and the concerned municipalities will be responsible for implementing them, the Embassy said.

HICDPs have emerged as a significant facet of the India–Nepal development partnership since their inception in 2003. Initially the scheme was known as Small Grant Projects. These projects are implemented at the grassroots level through local authorities in priority sectors of the Government of Nepal, including health, education, drinking water, sanitation and drainage, rural electrification, hydropower, embankment and river training, among others.

“As close neighbours and development partners, India and Nepal have wide-ranging and multi-sectoral cooperation,” the Embassy said. “The implementation of the HICDPs reflects the continued support of the Government of India in reinforcing the efforts of the Government of Nepal in achieving growth and development.”

–IANS

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