The Prime Minister’s Office has envisaged one mega city in each of the seven provinces, linking them with rail and road networks.

Besides serving as the federal capitals, these proposed cities will have special productions, energy plants, urban transport and telecommunications that will suit the social, economic and cultural realities of the geography and contribute to income generation and employment, according to a concept paper.

The document has been forwarded to the Ministry of Urban Development for feasibility study by experts.

One mega city in the East will cover areas of Dharan and Chatara to the north, southern border of Morang district to the south, the eastern part of the Koshi river to the west and some parts of Morang to the east.

Another of the proposed mega cities will cover some adjoining parts of Dhanusha, Mahottari and Sindhuli districts. The third city will cover three districts of Kathmandu Valley. The fourth will spread over parts of Pokhara Valley, Abu Khaireni (Tanahun) and Gorkha Bazaar and also cover adjoining areas close to Prithvi Highway.

The fifth settlement is proposed in Dang Valley in western Nepal. The next one would be developed in Surkhet Valley while parts of Kailali, Attariya and Kanchanpur will be developed to be the provincial capital of the seventh province.

The PMO has advised to form a panel of experts comprising urban planners, geologists, environment experts, demographers, senior engineers, public transport experts and an urban development engineer to work as its member-secretary.

The team will prepare a report by fixing the boundary of the cities, forecast the population for another 50 years and recommend a master plan for integrated city development specifying its cost and executing agencies.

The experts’ team should also come up with suggestions for the cities to be linked with nearby towns and rural areas.

The team will recommend necessary legal, structural and other frameworks in order to build the metropolitan cities.

The panel will recommend a land pooling system, designating areas for agriculture, tourism, industry, education and health.

The developments are said to take care of ponds and watershed areas and rivers. Other considerations will be sporting fields, parks, open spaces, community buildings, and crematorium. The experts’ panel is required to recommend integrated townships in the adjoining areas. Ways to minimise natural disasters and manmade risks in the cities would also be explored.

The PMO has proposed these cities to be well connected with other places through rail and road.