Chitwan, May 18: The long-standing forest-related obstruction affecting the construction of the 220 kV Damauli–Bharatpur transmission line under the Tanahun Hydropower Project has finally been resolved, allowing the project work to move ahead rapidly.
Following the settlement of legal and financial issues related to tree felling, the Division Forest Office Chitwan has granted forest entry permission in the transmission line’s right-of-way area effective from May 8.
According to the approval, 1,263 trees of different species will be felled in the Satanchuli protected and community forest areas of Bharatpur Metropolitan City–1, as well as in the Akaladevi and Siddhadevi community forests in Ward No. 29.
The cut trees will be stored at locations designated by the respective community forests and sub-division forest office. Although the federal Cabinet had earlier approved the use of forest land and removal of trees for the project, construction had been delayed due to difficulties in managing compensation funds.
The uncertainty ended after the Ministry of Finance Nepal approved the budget source and a formal agreement was signed with the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation. Under the Cabinet’s earlier decision, permission was granted to use 92.73 hectares of forest land — including 25.27 hectares in Chitwan and 67.46 hectares in Tanahun — and to remove a total of 9,127 trees for the transmission line project.
Tree marking work is currently ongoing in Tanahun in coordination with the Division Forest Office, project officials, and community forest user groups. The 34.7-kilometre transmission line will include 94 towers. According to Project Chief Shyamji Bhandari, foundations for 78 towers have already been completed and 69 towers have been erected.
He said 99 percent of the required construction materials have already reached the project site, and work on tower erection and wire stringing will now accelerate. The overall physical progress of the Package-3 transmission line project has reached 76 percent. The remaining work is being carried out by Indian contractor KEC International Limited.
The transmission line project, estimated to cost USD 50.5 million, is jointly funded by Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, European Investment Bank, the Government of Nepal, and Nepal Electricity Authority.
The 140 MW Tanahun Hydropower Project is expected to generate an average of 587.7 million units of electricity annually during its first decade of operation. Meanwhile, development of the 126 MW Lower Seti Hydropower Project in the downstream area of the same river basin is also progressing. #Nepal
