Kunda Dixit's "After Kali Gandaki" (#53) clearly reveals the reason why the country with the most abundant hydropower in the world is paying the most for it: donor policies, tied aid, lack of competitive bidding and high level corruption due to political interference. We are paying most expensive tariff rate for electricity and its primary cause is the high dollar-denominated price paid by NEA to purchase the power. Why are we still installing large hydro projects by foreign investors when our rupee is depreciating so steeply? Why aren't we promoting small (1MW-10MW) or medium (10MW-50MW) scale hydropower projects with our own investments? Chilime(20 MW) and Puwa (14 MW) have already proved to be cheaper and more cost-effective. Last week, the price of electricity was jacked up again. NEA should instead have looked at more efficient management, minimising losses, eliminate high level corruption and political interference and install cheap hydroelectric projects with our own investments and technicians. Nepalis have always known that it is more worthy to eat kodo than to buy expensive rice with loans. But our corrupt ministers and bureaucrats are too blinded by greed.

Himal Kafle
Institute of Engineering
Pulchowk