KATHMANDU: The court order not allowing the extraction of river materials from Kaligandaki River has affected the ongoing construction of the 40 megawatts (MW) Rahughat Hydropower Project in Raghuganga Rural Municipality, Myagdi district.
The court's verdict has contradicted the project's approved environmental impact assessment report that allows the extraction of river materials from the designated areas, said the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). As a result, the project is at risk of being closed, it added.
On July 13, 2021, a single bench of the then Chief Justice Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana ordered not to extract the materials or cause any activities like constructing a reservoir by diverting its natural flow, polluting, and extracting river materials including Shaligram (the holy stones) from the river that would affect the natural flow of the river and cause damage to the environment until the writ petition was decided. The river is important religiously, historically and environmentally, the court reasoned.
A team comprising Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, NEA Executive Director Kul Man Ghising, and Deputy Executive Director Pradip Kumar Thike carried out an onsite inspection of the project on Saturday. On the occasion, the project management and the contractor company briefed the visiting high-level team that the construction was hampered after the ban on quarrying the river-based construction materials following the Supreme Court's interim order.
Minister Basnet reiterated that initiatives will be taken to resolve the problem. According to NEA, the Minister said the progress of project construction is satisfactory and the necessary initiatives, coordination and facilitation will be done at the highest level for addressing the problem with the quarrying of river-based materials. He also directed the project management to complete the project within the stipulated time.
The contractor company has expressed the commitment to complete the construction works of the project within the next 15 months if the existing shortage of river-based construction materials like stones, pebbles and sand is removed. The overall physical progress of the project is 65% at present.
The construction reservoir, main tunnel, and powerhouse among other structures is ongoing. Of the total six-kilometre-long main tunnel, construction of 5.6 kilometres has already been completed. The construction of civil structures of the powerhouse and installation of equipment is also ongoing.
