Taskforce formed to identify issues of land acquisition, forest and environment on project development
Kathmandu: The government has formed a taskforce to identify and troubleshoot the issues on forest, environment and land acquisition witnessed while developing the projects under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation.
A meeting attended by Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dipak Khadka, Minister for Forest and Environment Yin Bahadur Shahi, State Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Purna Bahadur Tamang, State Minister for Forest and Environment Rupa Bishwakarma, secretaries and joint-secretaries of both the ministries formed a seven-member taskforce to carry out the assignment.
Secretary at the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat Suresh Acharya will lead the taskforce. Joint secretaries at the Department of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Sushil Chandra Acharya and Indira Dahal, joint secretaries at the Ministry of Forest and Environment Dr Maheshwor Dhakal and Meghnath Kafle and Director General of the Department of Electricity Department Nabin Raj Singh are the members in the taskforce while Joint Secretary Kalanidhi Paudyal of Water and Energy Commission Secretariat is named as the member-secretary.
The taskforce is assigned to submit its report with recommendations to address issues relating to policy, legal and procedural.
The taskforce is given a deadline of 25 days to submit the report. Currently, the projects under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation have faced some challenges due to the lack of a specific legal basis for the acquisition of (unregistered and uncultivated) Eilani land, assessment of land and its compensation, clearing the forest land by cutting trees, and other issues too.
