Pancheshwar project law rekindles hopes
KATHMANDU, SEP 24 -
In a major breakthrough for the development of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project, Nepal and India on Tuesday endorsed the statute for the Pancheshwar Development Authority.
The project, to be developed on the Mahakali river on the Nepal-India border, is expected to generate 6,720 megawatt energy, and irrigate 93,000 hectares of land in Nepal and 1.6 million hectares on the Indian side.
The regulation provides much-needed impetus to the implementation of the project, envisaged by the Mahakali Treaty signed 18 years ago.
Energy Secretary Rajendra Kishore Kshatri and Alok Rawat, Indian Water Resource Secretary, signed the statute that was finalised by a two-day meeting in Kathmandu . The statute, according to Nepali officials, has guidelines for the functioning of the authority, formation of the governing body as well as the executive committee.
Once the authority becomes functional, works on finalising a detailed project report, financial close and construction will be undertaken. “We’ve made the treaty functional,” said Kshatri. “The authority will work as per the terms of reference that the two countries exchanged in August.”
Nepal and India exchanged the ToR during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kathmandu last month. Modi, addressing Nepal’s Parliament, had said the much-delayed project would move forward within a year.
The governing body of seven members from each country will be co-chaired by the energy secretary of Nepal and the water resource secretary of India. The chief executive officer heads the executive committee.
The CEO will be appointed every three years on rotational basis between Nepal and India. Both the countries have agreed to appoint the first CEO from Nepal. With the statute talking about an additional CEO, it has been agreed that if the CEO is from Nepal, the additional CEO and finance director will be from India, and vice versa.
The meeting decided that the CEO will be appointed by the government, not from free competition as agreed earlier. “The idea is to ensure that someone with an experience of the Pancheshwar project leads the authority in order to ensure its timely completion,” said Keshav Dhwoj Adhikary, joint-secretary at the Energy Ministry.
The meeting agreed to assign Wapcos Limited from India to upgrade data for the integration of detailed project reports prepared separately by Nepal and India. “There is a need to recheck data available in Nepal and India,” said Rawat.
He said the cost and benefits of the project could be analysed once the DPR is finalised. Officials of both the countries said they are hopeful of completing the DPR in the next six to 12 months.
Former Energy Secretary Sheetal Babu Regmi said the endorsement of the statute is a positive development. “Since the statute isn’t out for public, there isn’t much to comment on it,” said Regmi.
“Authorities of both the countries have passed the test of completing the task as per the commitment made during Modi’s visit. They should now set a time frame and complete talks regarding the DPR on time.”
According to Regmi, the multipurpose project is more beneficial for Nepal than India. “Nepal has got this project as a result of hard bargaining with India. Inundation will be worse in India than in Nepal.”
Source: The Kathmandu Post
