Kathmandu, January 16:

The West Seti Hydroelectricity Company (WSHC) has finally expressed willingness to give for free 10 per cent of energy to be generated from the 750-MW West Seti project to the government.

Earlier, the company had said it was open on giving either electricity or cash. Later, saying that it had made an agreement with the government to pay in cash instead of energy, it refused to listen to the direction of the Parliamentary Natural Resources Committee (NRC) to give free energy instead of cash.

Answering questions of lawmakers, manager of the WSHC Himalaya Pande said today that the company will, by the end of this month, come up with a written commitment on giving energy.

“The Snowy Mountain Engineering Company (SMEC) is positive on making payments in terms of energy now. But I will have to make you wait till January 28 for our formal commitment, as we need to discuss this with other partners,” he said.

Work on the $1.12 billion 750-MW project was scheduled to begin by the end of last year with support from SMEC of Australia, India, China and the Asian Development Bank.

Promoters of the project have made an agreement with an Indian company to export electricity to India. Pande was answering queries of NRC members in course of a discussion on the future of the mega project. An agreement was reached 13 years ago to start the project.

Pande said the company will also ensure better living standards for the locals who will be displaced in course of a reservoir for the project. He said the affected will be resettled. “We have formed four local bodies in hill areas and two bodies in Tarai areas to discuss the resettlement,” he said.

He said components of the project will straddle along 2.9-km-long forest land across a wildlife corridor and the project will hardly affect the vegetation and wildlife because 15-metre-tall towers will be built across the jungle.

Earlier, MPs associated with the NRC criticised the WSHC for being slow at construction, for swinging between free energy and cash compensation and for being unclear on the resettlement plan.Minister for Water Resources Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said the government has prioritised the project.

WSHC apologises:

KATHMANDU: The manager of the WHSC on Wednesday apologised to the parliamentary committee for use of the term “hasty decision” in its letter to the Department of Electricity Development dated October 15 last year.

The letter had said that the decision of the parliamentary committee to stick to its demand of 10 per cent of free energy was a “hasty one”.

“Threatening or dishonouring the parliament was not our intention. I apologise over or the use of that term,” he said, adding that he had intended that the company will be in dire consequences if the government acquires energy and again urges the company to sell it after

failing to consume it in the local market.

NRC members had criticised the use of the term “hasty decision” and demanded clarification from the WSHC. Basanta Nembang, an NRC member, demanded that the content of the letter be revised. “It is a direct insult to the parliament. Mind you, our committee is not a tea-shop,” he said. — HNS