Land pooling project carried out by Green Village Housing in Nangkhel, Suryabinayak municipality-9, Bhaktapur. (Photo: Saroj Nepal/Nepalkhabar)
The price of land was hardly Rs 200,000 per ana in Nangkhel in Suryabinayak municipality-9 of Bhaktapur district in 2070 BS.
The land value has now soared almost by 20 times in the span of nine years. It costs Rs 4 million per ana now. Locals have been elated with the increment in their land value.
The land structure in Nangkhel is landslide-prone and is fraught with barren lands and rivulets.
Locals with their houses on the rim of Araniko Highway used to worry about landslides during the rainy season.
"We used to worry about the landslides when they occurred nearby our houses," a local whose house is based near Kathmandu Fun Valley (Bhaktapur) said.
Influenced by the Manohara Land Pooling Project, real estate professionals started doing a systematic land plotting venture in the municipality.
They pulled fragmented plots belonging to various individuals including that of the government and started this real estate business two years ago.
Green Village Housing Land Pooling Project has been working out on creating around 400 plots. Investors including Laxman Awale, and Prabin Kusma are associated with this project. This project is based in Suryabinayak municipality-9, Nangkhel.
"The project is being run under the land pooling modality. Over 200 ropanis of land including 54 ropanis belonging to the government have been acquired already,"
The Green Village Housing has acquired 30 to 35 percent of land belonging to locals, with the proper management of road, sewerage and, open space.
Dams have been built with roads on both sides of the river and is equipped with a proper plantation. Five percent of the plotting has been spared for the open space. Electric polls have been erected after laying Hume pipes.
"The company will start selling the plots once the inner roads are blacktopped," said a staffer of the company, "Locals will be provided land ownership certificates along with serviced plots as per the agreement.
'Land sold for Rs 200,000 per ana hits Rs 4 million'
The real estate owners had started the venture in 2070 BS. Locals had sold their land for scrap since its structure was steep and unfertile. "We sold our land for Rs 200,000 per ana," said a local woman," Now the land costs Rs 4 million per ana."
A 50-year-old local says, "The landslide-prone barren land has been managed." According to him locals are happy with the land pooling project and are willing to provide their unused land to the company.
"Nothing grows in the barren land. It's unproductive unless it is planned," says a local, "We are willing to hand over our unused land to the company for plotting."
At the start, over 35 excavators and dozers were used for leveling the plot on a daily basis. Fifteen excavators were seen when Nepalkhabar's representative reached the project site. The sale of land plots has not yet started since the work of plotting is still underway, said the company.
"The booking will start once the infrastructure of the project site including black-topping is over," a staffer of the company said.
