Nepal’s central bank is moving forward with plans to print new banknotes featuring a revised map that incorporates disputed territories with India within the next year, a media report said on Tuesday.
Striving to include areas like Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, the Nepal Rashtra Bank has started this process, according to joint spokesperson Dilliram Pokharel.This effort follows a cabinet decision on May 3 led by then-Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’.
Pokharel said, “The bank has already forwarded the process of printing the new notes,” and added that the task would be completed in six months to one year.
Despite the significance of this move, the bank’s primary spokesperson has not been available for additional comments.
In May 2020, during K P Sharma Oli’s government, Nepal unveiled a new political map that marked Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura as part of its territory, which was subsequently endorsed by Nepal’s Parliament.
This map was then adopted in all official documents, replacing the previous one, even as India raised objections, asserting its claim over the regions.
Nepal shares a border stretch of over 1,850 kilometers with five Indian states: Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.