KATHMANDU, JULY 6
The Supreme Court in the past 10 days issued two significant verdicts that have paved the way to complete the construction of the transmission lines halted for years.
The SC on June 26 and on July 5 gave its verdicts on the issue concerning construction of Hetauda-Bardaghat transmission line.
The apex court's decisions have allowed the construction of two transmission towers for the transmission line that is considered important in terms of supplying power generated in the east to the west.
A division bench comprising judges Ishwor Prasad Khatiwada and Prakash Kumar Dhungana decided to clear legal hurdles in the construction of the pylons.
Nepal Electricity Authority Executive Director Kulman Ghising said obstruction in constructing pylons required for transmission line had created a lot of problems. According to Ghising, power production is high in the areas surrounding Kathmandu and the eastern region. But lack of proportional distribution of power supply has affected consumers of the western parts. At the moment, the NEA is supplying 364 megawatts of electric to India, but people in the western region are not getting the required power.
After the verdict, it has become easier to install two transmission towers at Dumkibas of Nawalparasi.
The locals had been obstructing construction of pylons at Dumkibas under the 220-KV Hetauda-Bardaghat transmission line.
After today's verdict, the writ petition has been scrapped and it has become easier for the NEA to carry out work by providing compensation to locals as per the law.
Similarly, the SC yesterday scrapped the writ petition filed by former minister Sarita Giri.
With this, it has become easier to construct the 400-KV Hetauda-Dhalkebar-Inaruwa transmission line project, which was halted for long.
Giri had filed a writ petition on 30 January 2019, demanding that the route of the transmission line be changed and the ongoing work at Padariya of Lahan Municipality in Siraha be stopped. Construction of the eight transmission towers was obstructed due to the earlier verdict of the court.
The project that started from Hetauda links Inaruwa which is 288-kilometres long and it requires 729 transmission towers.
Since the transmission line is a high voltage one, its right of way will be 23 metres to the right and left from the centre.
Much of the problem was seen in using the forest area land and the private land falling under the project.
NEA Executive Director Ghising expressed happiness over the apex court's decision that will help expedite construction work of the transmission lines. "The problem faced by NEA in the construction of transmission lines has been resolved," he added. According to him, NEA has provided relief and compensation to locals as per the law while constructing the projects and it will do so in the future as well without any qualms.
There are obstructions in the construction of most transmission lines undertaken by NEA. The possibility of these projects being completed within the stipulated time is very slim due to the obstruction.
This situation has pushed up the project cost and also increased the timeline, which has further added to the problem.
Ghising believed that the latest two verdicts of the Supreme Court will make matters easier on other works and projects related to development and construction.
The problem could not be resolved despite the NEA's efforts.
A total of 244 transmission towers have already been constructed for the Hetauda-Bardaghat 220-Kv Transmission Line. The project could not be completed as only two towers were left to be constructed. The locals had obstructed construction work of these two towers demanding that the route of the transmission line be changed.
The people from the western region of the country had been continuously complaining to NEA as electricity could not be supplied from the east to the west. The locals of western Nepal had consistently drawn attention of NEA to resolve the problem caused by irregular power supply.
NEA Executive Director Ghising has already promised to complete the work of the transmission line within a month.
The transmission line presently in operation is of 132-Kv capacity which can only transmit maximum 90 megawatts power. A large quantity of surplus power was wasted last year due to lack of higher capacity transmission line.
Nearly 500 megawatts power can be supplied to western parts from eastern parts of the country after completion of the double-circuit transmission line with a total of 220-Kv capacity.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 7, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
