Rs 130 Million Electric Vehicle Left to Rot in Lumbini for 5 Years Amid Bureaucratic Delays

Kathmandu. Nineteen electric vehicles worth approximately Rs 130 million, provided to the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT) have remained unused for five years. The process of bringing them back to Kathmandu has been initiated, as the vehicles have not been operated for an extended period of time.

Under the Clean Energy Project of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), five buses and 14 taxis, received as grants, were brought in for the promotion of tourism and environmental protection in Lumbini. These vehicles, brought in by the Government of Nepal after paying customs duty of Rs 35 million, were intended to transport tourists from Gautam Buddha International Airport to Lumbini and the surrounding Buddhist sites.

However, due to the lack of proper operational management,these expensive vehicles under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation have deteriorated after being left unattended. The exterior has been damaged by the sun and rain, and the batteries and internal parts have also been damaged due to long periods without charging. 

According to Deepak Shrestha, Member Secretary of Lumbini Development Trust, the ministry had requested three buses to be sent to Kathmandu a week ago for the Civil Aviation Authority. Based on that, the trust had initiated the process of sending the buses, but yesterday the ministry again instructed that the decision not be implemented, after which the process was halted.

Although an agreement was made with ADB in 2017, these vehicles only arrived in Lumbini in November 2020. Although a five-day free trials was conducted during the festival season in September 2022, they were left unused again afterwards. At first, there were legal barriers to using them for tourism because they had white number plates. Only last May, following the Court order of the High Court, Tulsipur, Butwal bench, the number plates of these vehicles were changed to green.

Even though the number plates have been changed, the operation process has not been able to move forward as the fare rates have not been set. According to Shrestha, the Department of Transport Management has not established official fare rates for electric vehicles, which has led to legal problems when the private sector is given operational control through a tender. 

At the moment, two large buses require maintenance, and only one bus is in operation. The other three buses and small cars are ready to operate, but they are awaiting fare rates.

A separate charging station, constructed by the ADB with an investment of Rs130 million to charge these vehicles, is currently closed. The problem of charging has been further complicated after the station was damaged due to an electrical fault last week.

Although the Development Trust stated that it is coordinating with the Ministry and Department of Physical Infrastructure and Transport for the fare rates, there is still no guarantee that the vehicles will be fully operational.

पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: चैत २०, २०८२ १४:९

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