Key Points

Nepal's Minister for Communication and Information Technology and government spokesperson, Jagadish Kharel, said on Friday that a cabinet meeting has approved the exchange of 409.53 square metres of land owned by the Consulate General of Nepal in Kolkata with 526.34 square metres of land owned by the Indian Railway Development Corporation Limited.

According to Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two plots of land are adjacent. A senior foreign ministry official told IANS that Nepal facilitated the construction of India's critical infrastructure by agreeing to the land swap arrangement.

"It is a win-win deal because the Indian side will be able to build its critical railway infrastructure, and Nepal will receive a larger piece of land in the adjoining area in return," the official said on condition of anonymity. "As a building currently stands on the land being swapped with the Indian Railway Development Corporation, the Indian side has also agreed to construct a larger and better facility on the land Nepal will receive in exchange."

According to the official, the Indian side had long been requesting a resolution to the matter, as the alignment of the Kolkata Metro passed through the land owned by Nepal's Consulate General. Past reports state that the two sides discussed the issue in July this year. Around 60 metres of the Purple Line's 450-metre ramp is planned to be constructed next to the existing premises of the Nepal Consulate, according to the reports.

The Joka-Esplanade (Purple Line) of the Kolkata Metro is one of the city's newest metro corridors and has been designed to enhance connectivity in southern Kolkata and improve links with central business areas.

- IANS