World News | Local People in Eastern Nepal Halt Construction Work of 900 MW Arun III Hydropower Project
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. The local people in Eastern Nepal have halted the construction work of the 900 MW Arun III hydropower project that is being developed by an Indian company in the region, a media report said on Wednesday.
Kathmandu, Sep 20 (PTI) The local people in Eastern Nepal have halted the construction work of the 900 MW Arun III hydropower project that is being developed by an Indian company in the region, a media report said on Wednesday.
The local people obstructed the construction in the Sankhuwasabha district demanding compensation for the land to be acquired along the Chhyangkuti-Diding Pukhuwa approach road of the Arun III project site, according to government daily The Rising Nepal.
Arun-III is a 900-megawatt run-of-the-river under-construction project being built by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Arun-III Power Development Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam.
The commissioning of the project, being constructed on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model, is scheduled for 2024.
Also Read | Adriana Thyssen, Brazilian Fitness Influencer, Dies of 'Mystery Illness' At 49 After Losing 45 Kg in A Year.
The construction company will operate it for 25 years, excluding the construction period of five years, and then transfer ownership to the Nepal government.
“We are forced to take to the streets as the government did not address our demands,” said Jani Kumar Rai, coordinator of the Arun Entrance Route Struggle Committee.
The local people have been demanding compensation for the land to be acquired along the Chhyangkuti-Diding Pukhuwa.
Four hundred and fifty-four ropanis (2.5 million sq. ft) of land are yet to be acquired from Chhyangkuti to Pukhuwa, according to the report.
The agitating local people have warned of continuing the protest until their compensation is deposited in the account of the district administration office.
According to the project development agreement reached with the SJVN, the Nepali government has to bear NRs 80 million daily if the construction is halted by the local people.
On May 9, 2023, the compensation determination committee formed to compensate the affected local people decided to provide NRs 1.1 million in compensation per ropani (5,476 sq ft) of land acquired along the Chhyangkuti-Diding road for the project.
However, the local people are yet to get the compensation amount.
Nepal will get 197 megawatts of electricity from the project free of cost according to the contract.
The cost of the project is estimated to be over NRs 115 billion and more than 3,000 workers are employed at the construction site.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)