Extraction activities
The government had in 2014 decided to impose restrictions on extraction of sand and aggregates from the Chure belt, the ecologically vulnerable east-west mountain range running through 26 districts. A high-level committee was set up under the President of Nepal to protect the Chure range. Extractive activities on the belt were banned until Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) were completed in each of the 26 districts. But the ban was never seriously imposed. One of the reasons was the failure of the District Development Committees (DDCs) to conduct timely environment assessment, on the basis of which permits to extract resources sustainably would be handed out. Although EIAs were supposed to be completed within the mandatory 126 days, in reality the process took at least a couple of years. This made it easy for illegal extractors to say that they were ready to go by the book—but only if the government was first serious about doing its bit. But it is not just Chure that is vulnerable. Unsustainable extraction, wherever it takes place, is damaging to local ecosystems. This is why all DDCs in Nepal were given the responsibility to conduct timely environmental assessment of possible areas of extraction.
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But their failure to do so led to acute shortages in vital construction material. This shortfall was particularly painful as it meant that many of the reconstruction works after last year's earthquakes could not be started. Nor could there be much progress on the designated priority projects like international airports at Nijgadh and Pokhara. This is why, even as it understood the possible risks to environment, the KP Oli government last Thursday decided to lift the provision on mandatory EIA. The decision is expected to expedite development works and by extension help with the expenditure of national budget. The long EIA process was one of the reasons allocated annual infrastructure budget could not be spent. Now individual ministries will be able to approve extraction of construction material on the basis of Initial Environment Assessment (IEE), a much shorter process. We too hope that vital development and infrastructure projects can now be expedited and economic growth pick up. The chronic failure to spend development budget is one of the reasons the national economy has been in the doldrums of late: annual growth this is expected to plummet to as low as two percent this year.
But doing away with the lengthy EIA is only a short-term remedy. In the long run, the 92 quarries that have been designated safe for extraction must be developed so that sand and aggregates can be extracted legally and in needed quantities. There is an urgent need to build roads to these quarries and to supply them with reliable electricity. This will help protect other vulnerable areas, expedite vital infrastructure works and give a much-needed boost to the sluggish economy. There is thus a way to strike the right balance between development and environment protection. But so far the government does not seem keen on such long-term solutions. This short-termism could be costly to the environment, as constructors come to rely more and more on illegal channels to meet their needs.
