Cement factory project near temple halted after protests

BHAIRAHAWA, MAY 07 -

The government has started an investigation into Shree Ram Cement Factory which is under construction at Harnaiya, Bhaisakhabar.

The Department of Industry formed a probe committee after locals criticised the government for issuing a building permit without doing a proper study of the possible impact on the nearby Ram Janaki Temple, Bal Bikash Kendra and three schools.

The locals said that the government had okayed building the factory based on an initial environmental assessment (IEA) report which had been prepared very sloppily without doing a field study. They have filed complaints against the proposed factory at different government bodies including the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA).

Meanwhile, the investigation committee has pointed out after its study that some mistakes had been committed while issuing the permission to build the factory. Committee coordinator

Ram Prasad Luitel said that the factory had encroached on government land.

According to Luitel, the factory has encroached on 20 ft in the east, 29 ft in the north, 10 ft in the west and 15 ft in the south of the Ram Janaki Temple. Officials from the Industry Department and Survey Office Bhairahawa have measured the land of the factory. Luitel also said that the IEA presented to the government was “different”.

The IEA submitted to the government states that there are no important areas near the factory site.

However, the Ram Janaki Temple, Bal Bikash Kendra and three schools are located near the site of the proposed cement factory. On Friday, irate locals chanted slogans against the department and its officials when they visited the factory site for a field study. They said that the factory was being built due to the negligence of government officials, and demanded that it be relocated as it would have a negative impact on their locality and the environment.

Bhagaru Yadav, a local, said that locals had been told that a noodle factory was going to be built when the government had actually issued a permit for a cement factory. Currently, construction work on the factory has been halted by the Department of Archaeology.

Mahesh Kanu Baniya, the owner of the factory, said that they were facing problems due to protests by locals. He added that they had remained silent and not objected when they started construction.

Source: The Kathmandu Post