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Distribute compensation within 3 months: Minister
Energy Minister Janardan Sharma on Saturday summoned officials of the Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project Development Committee (BGHPDC) and asked them to be prepared to distribute compensation to the households to be displaced by the project within three months.Energy Minister Janardan Sharma on Saturday summoned officials of the Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project Development Committee (BGHPDC) and asked them to be prepared to distribute compensation to the households to be displaced by the project within three months.
Sharma asked the project officials to complete verification and classification, and determine the compensation rate for around 58,000 ropanies of land to be acquired.
“In our meeting with the minister, he asked us to complete all the background work and be prepared to distribute the compensation,” said Gopal Basnet, executive director of the 1200MW project.
District Administration Offices (DAOs) of Dhading and Gorkha have already published land seizure notices, freezing transaction of about 58,000 ropanies of land to be acquired by the project. Also, the Survey Office and Land Revenue Offices of both the districts, under the leadership of the project development committee, have identified and marked the places that will be affected by the project.
Currently, the offices, in association with the project, are verifying the
land parcels.
According to Basnet, some of the land parcels are not in the records of the Land Revenue Office, making the verification difficult. “People have land ownership certificates but the revenue office does not have records of such land plots,” said Basnet. “Lack of adequate human resources at the Survey Office and Land Revenue Office has added to the woes. However, we are trying our best to complete the verification process before monsoon.”
Once the verification is completed, the project has to complete Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping of entire land to be acquired. GIS mapping is a computerised system of capturing, storing, checking and displaying of land position on the Earth’s surface.
“After completing the verification and GIS mapping, we will make a field visit for the classification of the land,” said Basnet. “Based on the classification, the compensation rate of will be determined.”
More than 8,000 households will be affected by the project, according to the latest report by the project development committee. The report states the reservoir of the storage project will completely submerge 3,560 households and they need to be resettled to alternative locations with proper compensation. Likewise, 4,557 households will be partially affected, requiring proper compensation.
A 263-metre-high dam will be built for the Budhi Gandaki project which will create a lake that could become a tourist attraction. The project is expected to cost around Rs200 billion.