The court has settled the dispute over the Birendranagar — Kohalpur–Surkhet 132 kV transmission line expansion. The High Court, Tulsipur bench in Nepalgunj, has dismissed the writ petition, stating that the claim was insufficient. Locals from Baijnath Rural Municipality in Banke, at the starting point of the transmission line, had been obstructing the project for a long time.

The dispute over land acquisition for tower construction in Baniya Bhar and Gabhar of Baijnath Rural Municipality had reached its peak. Locals had demanded that the transmission line be relocated. On June 15, they filed a writ petition at the High Court. The locals had been obstructing the progress of the project for a long time, claiming that the transmission line towers would fall on their land.

Hearing the writ filed by the locals, the joint bench of Judges Poonam Singh Chand and Shyamji Pradhan dismissed the petition, stating that the claim was insufficient. With the court dismissing the writ, the path for the construction of the transmission line has been cleared. However, the full text of the court’s decision has not yet been released.

“Five towers need to be constructed in Gabhar of Baijnath Rural Municipality-1 in Banke and three towers in Baniya Bhar of Baijnath-4. With the court resolving the dispute, the Kohalpur–Surkhet–Dailekh 132 kV transmission line project is preparing to begin the construction process. Project head Ravi Chaudhary mentioned that they are now awaiting the full text. ‘We have plans to proceed with the work after the full text is received,’ he said, ‘and we have been informed that the full text will be available after Dashain.'”

The government initiated the Kohalpur–Surkhet 132 kV transmission project to improve and enhance the quality of electricity services in Karnali, as well as to connect hydropower projects being constructed in the Bheri and Karnali river basins to the national grid. The contract for the construction of the transmission line was signed on Sep 8, 2019. Once this project is completed, it is expected to resolve the issues of frequent unannounced load shedding and low voltage in Karnali.

The work that was supposed to be completed in two years has been delayed by three years due to the dispute in the Bardiya National Park, as well as the Gabhar and Baniya Bhar areas of Banke. The work in areas without disputes has already been completed a year ago. Chaudhary mentioned that the construction of towers and the installation of wires for the Harre–Chhinchu–Birendranagar transmission line has been finished. Additionally, the construction of the substation in Subbakuna of Birendranagar is also 80 percent complete.

Previously, permission for tree cutting had been granted in the main areas of dispute, namely Bardiya and Banke National Parks. Tree cutting has also begun in Banke National Park since a week ago. On July 31, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation granted permission to cut down more than 6,000 trees. The project has stated that it will take about three months to complete the tree cutting.

In this area alone, 70 towers need to be constructed. So far, foundations for more than 50 towers have been prepared in the cleared areas. Chaudhary mentioned that along with the tree cutting, the remaining work on the towers is also progressing simultaneously.

Source: Kantipur