BIKRAM RAI

The energy minister announced army deployment to the Upper Karnali hydropower project in Dailekh recently. The radical move comes after activists vandalised and set fire to the office, despite an international convention guaranteeing local rights over water. Actions by both the government and the protestors are unjustified.

The project licence limits generation of 900MW when the potential capacity is 4,180MW, where if full capacity is reached, 11 billion units of electricity can be generated and irrigate 1.5 millions hectares of land. Project proposals will yield only low quality 3.15 billion units. And in terms of revenue, full capacity generation would earn Rs 4.28 billion while the 900MW generation would deliver only Rs 833 million. So, local frustrations over the projects are understandable, but vandalism and violence are unacceptable and condemnable.

Unconfirmed news of Maoist and political involvement in the Upper Karnali raid is unfortunate. It is not in the interest of the country to be biased against Indian investment. Nepali investors should get first priority, but generating 4,000MW requires a huge investment for which Nepal's internal resources are insufficient. In the name of power generation, Nepal's sovereignty should not be bargained like Bhutan's.

To reign in local support, a probable solution is to give locals a sense of ownership and involvement in the projects. Deploying the national army, which by law is mandated only in times of war, isn't the answer.

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