KATHMANDU: The government has established a Task Force to address challenges related to forest, environment, and land acquisition encountered during the development of projects under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation. The Task Force was formed during a meeting attended by key ministers, including Energy Minister Dipak Khadka and Forest and Environment Minister Yin Bahadur Shahi, along with other senior officials.
Suresh Acharya, Secretary of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, will serve as the leader of the seven-member Task Force. The Director General of the Department of Electricity Development is one of the other members, along with joint secretaries from the ministries of Forest and Environment, Water Resources and Irrigation, and Energy. The member-secretary will be Kalanidhi Paudyal, a joint secretary in the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat.
Within 25 days, the Task Force is expected to deliver a report that includes suggestions for resolving policy, legal framework, and procedural challenges-related issues. Simplifying project development procedures is the goal, especially when it comes to environmental issues and land acquisition.
The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation faced a number of difficulties that prompted the creation of this Task Force. These difficulties include the absence of particular legislative rules that have impeded the advancement of several initiatives, such as obtaining unregistered and uncultivated land, determining land compensation, and removing forest land.
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