By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, Sep 18 (IANS) A 3,400 MW hydropower project that will have irrigation and flood control benefits for both India and Nepal has now come to a halt, like most projects between the two neighbours, due to Maoist interference.
The Saptakoshi multipurpose project in eastern Nepal, that is expected to control floods in Nepal as well as India’s Bihar state, has been in limbo for nearly four months due to opposition by the Kiranti Rastriya Morcha, which is affiliated to the Maoists.
India’s Minister Of State For Water Resources Jaiprakash Narayan Yadav recently said that India was pressing for speedy construction of the 269-metre dam on the Saptakoshi river to mitigate flood disasters and the detailed project report would be completed by 2008.
However, it seems highly improbable, given that only about 35 percent of the work has been done, though it started in September 2004.
D.P. Mathuriya, an official from the Indian side based in Nepal’s Dharan town, was reported as saying that it was unlikely that the project would be completed on time.
When India and Nepal signed the Saptakoshi agreement in 1997, Rs.300 million was allotted for the DPR (detailed project report), which was expected to be completed in 30 months.
But with prolonged delays, first due to the Maoist insurgency and political instability and then resistance by the locals, the cost of the DPR has now shot up to Rs.700 million.
The Kiranti Rastriya Morcha has stopped work on the DPR saying the authorities did not take the consent of the local people, who face displacement and environment degradation due to the high dam.
They are also demanding employment for the Kiranti community in the project.
Anti-dam activists from India and Nepal are also opposing the project.
The news of the Maoist fiat on Saptakoshi comes at a time India’s PTC India and Nepal’s Independent Power Producers Association of Nepal and Nepal Bankers’ Association are holding a two-day power summit in Kathmandu in the hope of giving a boost to Nepal’s hydropower sector and promote Indo-Nepal ventures.
Though Nepal has the potential to generate 10,000 MW by 2020, it is doubtful how much of the potential would be realised given the politics obstructing the sector.
With a critical election scheduled for Nov 22, the Election Commission Tuesday enforced the election code of conduct that prevents the government from signing any new project till the election.
Currently, it is doubtful if the election would be held at all with the Maoists threatening to quit the government.
Even if they stay on, Nepal’s army has reportedly briefed Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala that the election results, if they are not to the liking of “certain parties”, may cause fresh violence.