Construction of Kohalpur-Surkhet 132 KV transmission line stalled

Construction of the Kohalpur-Surkhet 132 KV power transmission line has been stalled due to the delay in forwarding the process authorizing the project to cut down trees along the right of way of the transmission line. The works on construction of the towers for the transmission line have been affected as the trees lying under the right of way of the transmission line in the forest in Banke, Bardiya and Surkhet remain to be chopped. The project has proposed cutting down 13 thousand 119 trees in the forests of Banke, Bardiya, and Surkhet for this purpose. Project chief Rabi Kumar Chaudhary said the construction of the transmission line has been affected by the delay in the approval of the proposal on cutting trees. “All the preparations have been completed from the side of the project and Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA). It is the job of the Ministry of Forests and Environment to forward the proposal on cutting down trees to the Council of Ministers for its approval,” he said.
According to him, it might have taken time for the Ministry as the trees in the forest inside the national parks need to be chopped off. The project has to be completed by August 2022 as per the agreement between the project and the Indian contractor, RS Infra-Project. The contract for project construction had been signed in July 2020. With the delay in getting approval for cutting down trees in forest areas, the project has been constructing the transmission towers only at places not falling under forest. It has constructed the foundation of the towers at 13 places so far. Altogether 161 double-circuit towers have to be constructed for the nearly 52 kilometers long transmission line.