July 8: The Supreme Court has issued a show cause notice in the name of the government seeking its written response over the Kaligandaki-Tinau Diversion Multi-Purpose Project.

A single bench of Justice Tej Bahadur KC on Wednesday (July 7) issued the order, asking the government to submit its written response within 15 days. The apex court has also summoned both sides for discussions on July 19.

The government plans to divert the water of Kaligandaki River to the Tinau River through a 27-kilometer tunnel by constructing a dam 2 km away from the Ramdi Bridge in Palpa.

Advocates Tulsiram Pokhrel, Ram Bahadur Shahi and Santosh Bhandari  had filed the writ petition demanding that the project should be stopped immediately. According to the petitioners, the decision of the government to divert the water of Kaligandaki will bring an end to the existence of the Gandaki river which is related with the civilization and culture of the country. They also noted that the river holds religious significance among Hindu pilgrims.

The petitioners have demanded an immediate halt in implementing the government's decision in this regard as the project is against the constitution, law and international treaties and agreements.

They also argued that the project will negatively affect a significant population in Gandaki Province as well as the watershed area from Ramdi to Devghat.    
 

Although this is not a new project, it has drawn attention after Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel inaugurated the project office in Butwal on June 26.

The project has been dragged into controversy after the government tried to move ahead with the Kaligandaki-Tinau Diversion Multi-Purpose Project without any preparation. The feasibility study of the project and environmental impact assessment report required before starting the project have not been prepared. The Detailed Project Report is also yet to be prepared. 

As the central government tried to advance the project without taking other parties into confidence, the issue was dragged to the court.  This multi-purpose project is being developed  targeting areas such as Butwal, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Lumbini.

The project aims to divert water from the Kaligandaki River to the Tinau River through a tunnel, irrigate the fields of Rupandehi and Kapilvastu and generate 126 MW of electricity. Officials of the project office have been saying that some of the water will be diverted into the Tinau river by constructing a huge reservoir in Dobhan and some water will be channeled through a 3 km tunnel to Belbas of Butwal for electricity generation.