An autovillage is being built in the Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City after over 25 years of discussions. The Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City and the Auto Mechanics and Engineering Association Makwanpur have been working towards creating an integrated vehicle repair center to address the pollution and beauty issues caused by scattered vehicle repair centers in the market area. The Rapti River Ukas land in Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City-11 has been approved for the autovillage and preparations are underway to transfer the current vehicle repair centers to this location. A 50 million rupee budget has been allocated for the construction of an embankment in Hetauda-11 to protect 31 bighas of the Rapti River.
The foundation stone of the autovillage has been laid by the Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City chief, Meenakumari Lama, and the current vehicle repair center will be operated in the market area. The President of the Auto Mechanics and Engineering Association, Anandram Paudel, stated that 60% of the work has been completed in the autovillage area. The Sub-Metropolitan City has allocated 2.5 million rupees for the autovillage and work, including land acquisition, has begun with a cost of 1.4 million rupees.
The head of the Sub-Metropolitan City has expressed willingness to cooperate and coordinate with the association and businessmen for the operation of the autovillage, and has offered to provide rent for the construction of structures. The autovillage will include a charging station, vehicle and equipment repair center, health post, lunch house, toilet, and more. The structures will be built in cost-sharing with the sub-metropolitan municipality, excluding the office building of the association.
Once the land clearing work is completed, the construction of roads, sewers, and towers will begin, and some vehicle repair centers in the market area may be relocated if the Nepal Electricity Authority extends the power line to the autovillage. A total of 250 large vehicle repair workshops can be built in the autovillage area, and currently, around 150 workshops are operating in the Hetauda market area.
The proposed autovillage will be a temporary structure as per the detailed project proposal made by the Bagmati State Government, and roads, sewers, and electrification will be carried out on the basis of temporary structures. The president of the association stated that the proposed permanent structures in the DPR made by the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure were unreasonable, as it would cost 210 million rupees and take years to complete. The permanent structure will not be built and the work will be carried out from a temporary structure instead.
Earlier, the Ministry of Forestry and Environment of the state had proposed a state-of-the-art autovillage, but the proposal was deemed unreasonable by the association and the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure was asked to make another DPR. A recommendation was made in 2062 to provide 20 bigha land for the autovillage, but it was not available as the District Administration Office Makwanpur did not recommend it to the higher authority.
What is Autovillage?
An Autovillage is a designated area or a settlement for vehicle repair and maintenance. It's a central location where different auto repair centers and workshops are consolidated to one place, instead of being scattered in different parts of a city. The main purpose of building an autovillage is to control pollution and to preserve the beauty of the city. Autovillages often include other facilities like charging stations, health posts, food stalls, and toilets, making it a one-stop solution for vehicle repair and maintenance.
Hetauda
