Cabinet can overrule CIAA order on hydros: Gyawali
KATHMANDU, NOV 20 -
Minister Radha Gyawali said on Wednesday that hydro projects stalled due to intervention by the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) could be pushed forward by overriding its order through a Cabinet decision.
The CIAA and parliamentary committees have been engaged in a highly-publicized dispute over jurisdiction after the anti-graft body ordered the termination of the generation and survey licences of a bunch of hydro projects for failing to conclude power purchase agreements and financial closure on time.
Speaking at the Reporters’ Club, Minister Gyawali said that a number of projects facing the termination of their licences had genuine developers. “I respect the decision of the CIAA and the concern of parliamentary committees. However, since some of the projects whose licences have been marked for cancellation are genuine, a power-starved country like Nepal should not hinder their development,” said Gyawali.
According to her, those projects which have been working seriously but have not been able to complete the paperwork by the deadline due to delays caused by the ministry itself and other government agencies should be given a second chance. “Genuine projects like the Kabeli-A should be saved. And to do this, I will even initiate taking the decision to the Cabinet,” she added.
Gyawali added that all the government authorities—constitutional bodies and parliamentary committees and the Council of Ministers—had specific roles, and they should not overstep their jurisdictions. The Energy Ministry, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Parliament and the CIAA have different views of the anti-graft body’s directive. Recently, defending the CIAA’s intervention in hydropower development, its boss Lokman Singh Karki criticized the tendency of bureaucrats and ministers to get their decisions endorsed by the Cabinet to avoid scrutiny by the anti-graft body. The CIAA does not have the authority to investigate issues decided by the Cabinet.
The CIAA has moved against a dozen projects for incomplete paperwork including the Kabeli-A which is the first foray by the World Bank Group into Nepal’s hydropower development after the Arun III debacle. The project is also being funded by state-owned Hydroelectric Investment Development Company (HIDCL) and private sector company Butwal Power.
Apart from the Kabeli, other projects affected by the CIAA’s directive are the 50 MW Karuwa Khola, 6 MW Buku Khola, 45 MW Lower Indrawati, 175 MW Chahare Khola, 400 MW Lower Arun, 3.4 MW Midim Khola, 14.3 MW Upper Mailum Khola, 18 MW Upper Solu Khola and 6.8 MW Upper Khoranga Khola, 36 MW Karuwa Khola, 60 MW Bhotekoshi-5 and 6 MW Buku Khola projects.
No load-shedding during summit
Energy Minister Radha Gyawali said on Wednesday that there would be no load-shedding in Kathmandu , Janakpur, Lumbini, Muktinath and Dhulikhel where the heads of state of different countries are slated to visit during the upcoming Saarc Summit. According to Gyawali, the Ministry of Energy has requested India for another 50 MW of energy to tide it over till the end of the conference. The Nepal Electricity Authority stated that imports from India would be enough to eliminate power cuts during the summit, and that it had been mulling activating Kulekhani, the only storage type hydropower project in the country.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
