Disputes related to two projects after GMR filed a petition with the Ministry of Forest and Environment saying that the tailrace, which releases its water from Upper Karnali again to Karnali, will be submerged by the Betan Karnali reservoir.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
There is a jurisdictional dispute between the 900 MW Upper Karnali to be built by the Indian company Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao (GMR) and the 439 MW Betan Karnali hydropower project to be built under the leadership of the Employees' Provident Fund.
Betan Karnali is a semi-reservoir project proposed just below Upper Karnali. After GMR applied to the Ministry of Forests and Environment, a dispute arose regarding the two projects after GMR was interested in submerging the tailrace, which releases water from Upper Karnali to the Karnali River again by the Betan Karnali Reservoir. Betan Karnali project promoter savings fund has completed all the work including project survey, environmental impact assessment report approval and applied for production license (generation license) to the electricity development department.
GMR submitted an application to the Ministry of Forest and Environment on 5th of December 2080, informing the Board of Investment, Department of Power Development, Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation that the highest water level (full supply level - FSL) of Betan reservoir and the end point of the tailrace of Upper Karnali meet each other. was GMR has written a letter to the Ministry of Forests and Environment saying that this will affect the electricity production of Upper Karnali and other technical aspects as well.
A 140m high dam is proposed in Betan Karnali project in Achham and Surkhet. After the construction of the dam, a reservoir with the capacity to store 16.169 million cubic meters of water will be constructed in the upper region. When this reservoir is fully filled, the FSL will be 473.30 meters above sea level.
According to Betan Karnali Jalvidyut, the project has been designed in such a way as to maximize the consumption of resources based on the water level coming out from the tailrace of Upper Karnali. Betan Karnali claims that since the lower point of Upper Karnali's tailrace is designed at 473.30 meters above sea level, Upper Karnali's tailrace will not be flooded. Upper Karnali, on the other hand, has sent a letter to the government agency claiming that its tailrace will sink due to the Betan Karnali reservoir.
Krishna Prasad Acharya, Managing Director of Betan Karnali Accumulator Hydropower Company, said that technically, Upper Karnali will not be affected. "Upper Karnali will be formed in the upper watershed area and Betan Karnali in the lower area," he said, "There is no technical problem, there will be no impact." As the FSL level of Betan Karnali is 473.3 meters and it will reach the jurisdiction of the said GMR, the investment will be taken in principle through the Ministry of Energy. Director General of Power Development Department Navinraj Singh said that the letter has been sent to the board.
"The jurisdiction given to Upper Karnali and Betan Karnali is separate. Meanwhile, Betan Karnali asked for theoretical consent in the department while optimizing the project, we also gave it," Singh said, "Betan can optimize the project in his area. But when optimized, the FSL was kept at 473.3 m. It will reach within the boundary of GMR.
Singh said that he sent a letter to the Board of Investment through the Ministry of Energy as only GMR can say whether the Betan Karnali project will affect Upper Karnali or not. "We asked Betan Karnali to come with an agreement with GMR or the investment board that his project will be affected or not, but he did not," he said. That is why we have now sent a letter to the Board of Investment through the Ministry of Energy. He also said that after receiving the reply from the Board of Investment, Betan will be given a production permit.
Betan Karnali applied for a production permit in the Electricity Development Department on February 10, 2078. Director General Singh said that the environmental impact assessment report was approved on December 17, 2080 and the documents of Betan's net worth were also submitted to the department only in July 2081. He says that even though the project has not submitted the documents, there has been a delay in the licensing process.
There is a jurisdictional dispute between Betan Karnali and Upper Karnali and the investment of Betan was not approved because the production permit could not be obtained, said Pradyumna Upadhyay, spokesperson of the Board of Investment. "Informal talks are being held to discuss technical groups of Upper Karnali and Betan Karnali," he said. If the same company had made both the projects, there would have been no problem. The technician of the board also said that there is no technical problem. This is a matter of agreement between the two companies.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Chiranjeevi Chatout, said that the main concern is that the water filled in the Betan Karnali dam will reach the area received by GMR. From the upper Karnali powerhouse, the Betan Karnali dam will be built, and the water filled in the dam will also stay in the area received by GMR. Therefore, we have asked the investment board for advice.'
Chatout says that the permit process will be carried out only after getting the feedback. He said that the Upper Karnali Project Development Agreement (PDA) has been signed and the Investment Board is looking at it, so the opinion is sought. KK Sharma, project head of Upper Karnali, said that the technical teams of both the projects will meet and discuss the issues of their respective projects. "We have already sent a letter to various related agencies, the investment board will call both parties and discuss that letter," he said.
