By Binod Prasad Adhikari
Kathmandu [Nepal], July 22 : Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has asserted that the disputed tri-junction of Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura are to be Nepali territories. Participating in the Question-answer session in the parliament, the Nepali Prime Minister asserted that a recent meeting between the Prime Ministers of Nepal and India has agreed to pursue a diplomatic route to resolve border-related issues.
"Regarding the international border of Nepal, the federal parliament, the Government of Nepal and all the Nepali are steadfast. The second amendment of the Constitution of Nepal had incorporated the new political map of Nepal in Schedule 2 and we have unprecedented agreement while doing so. As per the Sugauli Treaty of 1816, the Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh, all the territories that lie on the West of Kali- the Mahakali River belongs to Nepal, the government is steadfast and clear about it," Oli said.
Further adding, "During the high-level visits between the Nepali and Indian Prime Ministers the issues of the border have been raised timely and these issues would be resolved through the established mechanisms. In the 7th edition of the India-Nepal Joint Commission meeting held last year in the presence of the Foreign Minister, the issues of the border also were discussed. Both countries have expressed commitment to resolve the border issues at the earliest."
"The Nepal-India Boundary working group is also working to regulate the pillars on the border areas as well as the no-man's land and set up cross holding are being carried out timely," he added.
Nepal in the year 2020 amended the constitution by incorporating a new political and administrative map in the preamble constitution. The new map included the tri-junction of Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh which has remained a disputed area between Nepal and India.
Nepal's updated map prepared incorporating the missing territories was submitted to the Ministry of Land Management by the Department of Survey which claims to have taken accurate scale, projection and coordinate system. It was publicly released on May 20, 2020, after a go-ahead signal from the Cabinet meeting on 18th of May the same year.
The department has collected a map drawn during the Treaty of Sugauli, another brought from London, receipts of payment of land revenues and the order issued by the then Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher, as evidence to claim that the land belongs to Nepal.
The earlier map issued in 2032 BS had left Gunji, Nabhi and Kuri villages which now have been included in the lately revised map adding 335 square kilometers of its land.
Tensions between New Delhi and Kathmandu last year arose after the issuance of the political map by Nepal in mid-May including the tri-junction, which India earlier had included in its November 2019 issued map.
Diplomatic ties between the nations severed further after the inauguration of a road linking Kailash Mansarovar via Lipulekh on May 8, 2020, after which Nepal handed over a diplomatic note to India objecting to the move.
Before the handover of the diplomatic note, Nepal also had strongly objected to India's unilateral move to construct the road. Following a strong objection from Nepal, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the road going through Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district "lies completely within the territory of India."
Nepal said it has "consistently maintained" that as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), "all the territories east of Kali (Mahakali) river, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipu Lekh, belong to Nepal."Indian Defence Ministry had said the Border Road Organisation (BRO) in Uttarakhand has connected Kailash Mansarovar route to Lipulekh pass, which will provide connectivity to border villages and security forces.
Following a strong objection from Nepal, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said the road going through Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district "lies completely within the territory of India."
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