Taskforce formed to identify issues of land acquisition, forest and environment on project development

KATHMANDU, AUGUST 23: The government has formed a task force to identify and troubleshoot issues related to forest, environment, and land acquisition encountered while developing 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, along with secretaries and joint secretaries from both ministries, formed a seven-member task force to carry out the assignment.

Secretary at the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Suresh Acharya, will lead the task force. 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, Nabin Raj Singh, are the members of the task force.  Joint Secretary Kalanidhi Paudyal of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat is named as the member-secretary.

The task force is assigned to submit its report with recommendations to address issues related to policy, legal, and procedural matters. The task force is given a deadline of 25 days to submit the report.

Currently, projects under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation face 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 forest land by cutting trees, among other issues.