It has been found that even at the location where the local level has contracted, excavators have been used to dig trenches up to 5 meters deep in the middle of the river, contrary to what was mentioned in the contract.
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It has been found that the river is being exploited by excavating river materials against the standards in the Kaligandaki River.
It has been found that even in the places where the local level has contracted, an excavator has been taken in and a trench up to 5 meters deep has been made in the middle of the river, contrary to what was mentioned in the agreement.
Even though the IEE report mentioned that 1.20 meters of stones and sand would be excavated, trenches up to 5 meters deep have been made in the river. Extreme exploitation has been found in places such as Kalakhola in Ward-13, Maldhunga in Ward-1, and Dablyang in Ward-10, where Baglung Municipality has contracted.
In the eastern part of the river, exploitation is also being carried out in places such as Sahasradhara in Kushma Municipality-1 and 2 of Parbat. The natural beauty of the river is also deteriorating due to the regular exploitation that is being done without the administration's knowledge. ‘We went for monitoring after receiving information that the administration was exploiting during the election by turning a blind eye, and we found more exploitation than we expected,’ said Chief District Officer Krishna Prasad Acharya.
The monitoring conducted by a team including District Coordination Committee Chief Amar Bahadur Thapa, Deputy Chief Homanath Sharma, Baglung Municipality Deputy Chief Raju Khadka, and District Officer Acharya found extreme exploitation, materials were being collected beyond their jurisdiction, and the risk of natural disasters has increased, Thapa said. ‘Exploitation is being done by spreading rumors that there is a shortage of construction materials in the market and by raising the price of the materials,’ Thapa said. ‘Investigation is underway using technical means, and action will be taken against those who exploit, including fines.’ There is a provision that the local government can auction the materials piled up on the river banks, fine the exploiters, and tie them to the city’s income.
It has been found that Pratik Nirman Sevas in Baglung Municipality-13 Kalakhola and Bidhi Nirman Sevas in Ward-1 Maldhunga have been overexploiting. The monitoring team has said that they will take action after bringing a detailed report from all the areas. Since it is of religious importance, repeated orders from the Supreme Court and the High Court have not been implemented to stop the exploitation of the Kaligandaki river.
River exploitation is especially high in the border areas of Baglung and Parbat. Dozers and excavators are being used to exploit the river in places such as Maldhunga, Sahasradhara, Kalakhola, Lasti and others. River-based materials are being extracted by exploiting them indiscriminately and against standards even in places where contracts have been signed, while exploitation is being carried out overnight in places where contracts have not been signed.
Excavators are often found in the river even at night. Tippers have been driving along the road, pouring water on the road, making it muddy. Such problems were observed in the monitoring conducted by the Baglung administration after complaints were received that the police and administration did not see illegal exploitation.
Although the Kaligandaki River has been exploited from Maldhunga to Waribeni, it is alleged that the police and outposts traveling on the same road are also ignoring it. Baglung Municipality, Kushma Municipality, and Jaljala Rural Municipality are also in this area. Kushma Municipality and Jaljala Rural Municipality have awarded contracts for the extraction of river materials from the Kaligandaki River. Baglung Municipality had not awarded contracts for many years. In the current year, Sobin GC, the municipality engineer who awarded the contract, said that he prepared an IEE report and awarded the contract. ‘We are collecting the cost of exploitation that is not in accordance with the standards,’ GC said, ‘We recommend action in places where it has been done indiscriminately.’
The Supreme Court had issued an interim order on Ashad 29, 2078 in the name of the Gandaki and Lumbini provincial governments to stop the excavation of Kaligandaki. In the order issued by former Chief Justice Cholendra Shamsher Jabra, it was asked to stop the decisions and actions taken to affect the beauty of the Kaligandaki River and change the natural flow of the river, build dams, and smuggle shaligram and gravel-sand until the final decision of the writ petition.
Due to this order, the local level had not been able to sign contracts on the Kaligandaki River for four years. On Kartik 11, 2081, a bench of Supreme Court Justices Dr. Kumar Chudal and Binod Sharma dismissed the writ, paving the way for the contract. When there is talk about exploitation, the contractors themselves have been creating rumors of a shortage of construction materials in collusion, and they have also been using the opportunity to increase the price of the materials.
