KATHMANDU, Sep 20 : 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 today.
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.
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. (PTI)
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