Different views expressed: Budhi Gankdai project

KATHMANDU, MAR 10 

Energy Minister Radha Gyawali and Secretary Rajendra Kishore Kshatri have expressed different views on the development of the Budhi Gankdai Hydropower Project.

While Minister Gyawali stressed developing the project under the development committee, Sectary Kshatri said the project cannot move ahead under development committee.

Speaking at the Parliamentary Agriculture and Water Resource Committee, Gyawali said the project would move ahead under the development committee. “In addition, we have also planned to construct Lower Arun and Naumure Hydropower projects under the committee.”

But Kshatri said the project could not move ahead under development committee because it cannot issue shares for the locals and the general public if done so. “So I am holding informal discussions on developing the project under the project development company.”

Earlier, Minister Gyawali had taken a proposal of continuing the licenses of 13 hydropower projects to the Cabinet after secretary Kshatri terminated the permits as per the directive of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

The house committee’s Chairman Gagan Thapa expressed surprise over different views over the same hydropower project. “We, however, have to utilise the limited resources in hydropower projects. The issue of modality will be discussed at the policy level. We don’t want the project to be confined only in talks,” said Thapa.

According to Kshatri, investment will be assured only after the modality is confirmed. The lawmakers, however, said the government should at least manage the investment amount and land acquisition as the people have not been able to do land transactions for last 4-5 years hoping the project would be developed.

The government has decided to invest half of India’s $1 billion line of credit in this project. As the work on the project is moving at snail’s pace, the parliamentary committee also decided to hold talks with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala and other ministries concerned.

Source The Kathmandu Post