Khotang, Jan 6: The district coordination committee in Khotang has decided to request the necessary budget from the Government of Nepal and the Nepal Electricity Authority to facilitate the distribution of compensation for the land earmarked for the Dudhkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Project. In an all-party interaction, participants unanimously expressed concern over the absence of a budget allocation for compensation distribution and resolved to seek the required funds to initiate compensation distribution within the current fiscal year.

San Bahadur Rai, the Head of District Coordinating Committee Khotang, emphasized the urgency of resolving the compensation issue, highlighting the adverse impact on local residents who have endured a prolonged delay in land acquisition without compensation. Rai stressed the significance of the Dudhkoshi hydropower project for the region’s fate and future, urging relevant agencies to address the matter promptly.

To support and coordinate the project effectively, an all-party meeting with federal and provincial MPs, relevant municipal authorities, chief district officers, and joint meetings of Khotang, Okhaldhunga, and Solukhumbu will be organized every six months. The meeting further decided that local governments would collaborate and coordinate in constructing necessary access roads and bridges for the hydropower project while facilitating the provision of required land.

The affected regions include Rawabensi Rural Municipality-3 Lamidanda in Khotang and Chisangkhugadhi Rural Municipality-6 in Okhaldhunga, with 23,700 ropani of private land being acquired for the 635 MW Dudhkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Project. The compensation distribution process had stalled due to challenges in determining the land price, prompting the District Coordination Committee to organize an all-party interaction involving local authorities, the district administration office, and representatives of Dudhkoshi Jalvidyut Company Limited.

During the program, Dudhkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Company’s CEO and Project Manager, Bimal Gurung, explained that the land’s price could not be determined due to the absence of a compensation budget. Gurung highlighted the importance of securing approximately five billion rupees in the current fiscal year to commence compensation distribution, expressing the company’s readiness to proceed once the budget is allocated by the Nepal government and the Nepal Electricity Authority.

Chief District Officer and Compensation Determination Committee Coordinator Sant Bahadur Sunar affirmed that the land price determination would be finalized upon budget allocation for compensation. Sunar emphasized the need for a budget arrangement to facilitate compensation distribution promptly.

Mayor Bimal Rai of Halesi Tuwachung Municipality in Khotang urged for clarity in compensation determination, emphasizing the need to avoid confusion arising from the two-and-a-half-year delay in land acquisition. The majority of speakers participating in the program called for expediting the Dudhkoshi Reservoir hydropower project and advancing its construction without further delay.

Approximately 13,000 ropani of land in the affected areas have been frozen since June 23, 2078, impacting 3,139 households in Khotang, Okhaldhunga, and Solukhumbu. The detailed project report (DPR) of the Dudhkoshi Reservoir Hydropower Project, initiated around forty years ago, has been prepared, with plans to generate an additional 200 megawatts of electricity from the project.