Central Development Region (Nepali: मध्यमाञ्चल विकास क्षेत्र - Madyamānchal Bikās Kshetra) was one of Nepal's five development regions. It was in the east-central part of the country. Its headquarters were at Hetauda.
The Central Development Region had the Eastern Development Region to the east, the India to the south, the Western Development Region to the west and the People's Republic of China to the north.
The region was the fourth largest Development Region of Nepal. Its area was 27,410 square kilometres (10,580 square miles). It was first in population. There were 9,656,985 people living there in 2011.[1] Its population density was the highest of all regions with 352.3 persons/km2.
Part of this region was in the Kathmandu Valley with an area of 950 square kilometres (370 square miles). It was 35 kilometres (22 miles) long from east to west, and 30 kilometres (19 miles) long from north to south.
The most important river in the Central Development Region was the Bagmati, tributary of the Kosi river. It flows through the Kathmandu Valley. It is part of the Ganges watershed. The Bagmati is considered a holy river by Hindus and Buddhists.
Other rivers of this region were Kamala, Lakhandei and Bisnumati. These three small rivers are tributaries of the Bagmati.
The major cities of this region were Kathmandu, Patan, Bharatpur, Bhaktapur, Bhairawa, Lalitpur, Nagarkot and Janakpur. Other notable places were Khokana, Hetauda, Harisiddhi, Godavari, etc.
The region had 3 zones with a total of 19 districts: