The 900 MW scheme was planned long ago but it has not progressed beyond discussions. In 1994, the financial closure of the project was almost concluded, but nothing happened due to political wrangling.

It is not only Gurung who is worried that the project will not be built. Other locals too are keen on seeing the hydropower project being implemented for the development of the region. Speaking at an interaction programme held by the Investment Board Nepal (IBN) at Num on Thursday, they called for prompt implementation of the project.

The dam will be constructed at the area as per the plan. The signing of a project development agreement (PDA) between the IBN and India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam to build the Arun III project has raised the hopes of the locals.

“I have been waiting for 31 years for this project to become reality,” said Gurung. “There is nobody now to protest against the development of this project like in the past.”

Likewise, Durga Bahadur Parajuli, another local from Num, urged an early start of the work and demanded that Sankhuwasabha and Bhojpur districts be declared load-shedding free.

The project has pledged to provide 30 units of free electricity monthly to the project affected people. “We are excited at the news that locals will be provided employment, shares and free energy,” said Parajuli. Chairman of the Arun Stakeholder Committee (Bhojpur-Sankhuwasabha) said that the project should be started without delay. The IBN had collected the opinions of the local people near the proposed dam site in Num, the powerhouse site in Diding and the district headquarters of Khandbari through a public hearing.

Residents also demanded that there should be a good resettlement plan for the people who will be displaced by the dam. The project will affect 203 houses located in six VDCs of Sankhuwasabha village development committee, namely Makalu, Pathibhara, Pawakhola, Yafu, Num and Diding.  Local people, political leaders and lawmakers were all hopeful that the project would benefit the country as a whole. Lawmaker Taraman Gurung said that the improvement of the roads and the construction of a training centre would start soon. “The project will now definitely be developed,” a confident Gurung declared.

Similarly, National Planning Commission Secretary Sharada Prasad Trital said that they visited the project site to hear what the locals had to say one last time before starting the construction of the project.

IBN CEO Radhes Pant said that they would work as per the suggestions of the locals after the signing of the PDA. “As per the PDA, the construction work will start soon and it is scheduled to be completed in the next two years,” he added. The developer Satluj will evacuate the power generated by the project through the Dhalkebar substation to Muzaffarpur in India leaving behind Nepal’s share of the output.  According to the IBN, Nepal is set to receive Rs348 billion over 25 years from the project. Satluj will provide 21.9 percent free energy worth Rs155 billion and another Rs107 billion in royalty. More than 3,000 people are expected to get jobs at the project.

As per the PDA, the Indian company will allot Rs1.6 billion worth of shares to the locals, 50 percent of which will be issued within two years of the commencement of the project. The rest will be provided at a later date at a premium.

The IBN and Satluj started PDA talks in 2013 after Nepal and India signed a memorandum of understanding for the project’s construction in 2008.