DANG, Sept 11: Three years ago, the federal government introduced a policy and programme to extract and export stone, gravel and sand. Points 41 and 62 of the government’s policy and programme explicitly mentioned extracting and exporting these materials. The government described exports of riverbed stone, gravel and sand as a strong source of revenue.
According to Chure experts, the government at the time wanted to extract materials from rivers flowing through the Chure region and sell them to India. It showed little interest in protecting the Chure. The move drew strong opposition.
“The government was trying to take the wrong step of selling Chure stones and sand to India,” said Chure expert Dr Binod Bhatt. “The materials extracted from Nepal for such exports come mainly from the Chure. If the government allows Chure exploitation for revenue, the Tarai-Madhes cannot be protected.”
Four years ago, the government had also planned to extract stone from 92 locations and sell it to India. The proposal, introduced by then Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, described the 92 sites as being in the Mahabharat range. Chure experts say the sites were connected to the Chure region.
The plan to extract and export stone and sand from the Mahabharat range posed a serious threat to the Chure. The government eventually stopped the plan after facing strong opposition.
The then Lumbini provincial government, led by UML leader Shankar Pokhrel, also planned to cut down and level a hill in Rupandehi’s Chure region. The plan involved excavating Basantapur Hill along the Butwal-Palpa road and selling the stone and sand. The provincial government claimed levelling the hill would reduce the risk of landslides. But its underlying intention was to generate revenue by selling materials extracted from the hill.
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The Provincial Planning Commission had already approved a master plan for excavating Basantapur Hill. Yet the government did not identify the hill as part of the Chure region in any of its documents.
“The government never mentioned that the hill was part of the Chure,” said a former provincial government official. “Later, when it became known that the Chure hill was going to be excavated, there was strong opposition.”
According to a former official of the Provincial Planning Commission, a contract had also been awarded for the excavation. “As far as I know, the contract had already been awarded,” the official said. “But it was later cancelled. The reason may have been a legal case filed against excavating a Chure hill.”
Following the opposition, the provincial government backed away from its plan to extract sand and stone from Basantapur Hill.
Two years ago, Lamahi Municipality in Dang also invited bids to extract materials from the Rapti River. But no contractor came forward to take the contract for extraction in Ward No. 7. The municipality still wanted the contract awarded to generate revenue, so it decided to proceed through an internal arrangement known as an amanat contract.
Mayor Jograj Chaudhary reopened the bidding after the contract was not awarded within the original deadline. He described the new arrangement as an amanat contract.
Extraction later began at the site under that arrangement.
“We awarded the contract through the amanat system purely to generate revenue,” Mayor Chaudhary said. “When a contract is not awarded initially, there is a provision allowing the municipality to use the amanat system.”
The municipality’s intention was to increase revenue by extracting materials from the Chure. The Rapti River, which originates in the Chure and is a major source of income for Lamahi Municipality, Rapti Rural Municipality, Gadawa Rural Municipality and Rajpur Rural Municipality, has come under intense pressure from extraction.
Chure experts say the region is becoming increasingly vulnerable because governments have begun treating the Chure as a source of revenue. From the federal government to provincial and local authorities, the Chure is viewed as a major source of revenue. As a result, rivers and streams in the region are being exploited indiscriminately, often with government backing.
Experts had hoped the current government would take a more sensitive approach after previous federal governments had prepared plans for Chure exploitation. But Dr Bhatt says the present government has also failed to come up with any concrete plan to protect the region.
“Previous governments had the intention of destroying a resource as important as the Chure. We expected proper protection from the current government,” he said. “But this government has also shown no positive sign of moving towards Chure conservation.”
Experts have repeatedly called for a concrete Chure conservation plan backed by legislation. Bhatt, who helped prepare the master plan for Chure conservation, says the government has failed to take the issue seriously.
“Plans to sell off the Chure have repeatedly been prepared in indirect ways,” Bhatt said. “We expected the current government not to ignore the Chure as previous governments did, but so far it has also taken no meaningful step towards conservation.”
According to Bhatt, failure to protect the Chure is increasing the risk of displacement for people living in the Chure and Madhes regions. The Chure acts as a water storage area. If the region is degraded, water shortages will become increasingly severe in the Chure and the plains below.
Chure excavation also increases the risk of floods and landslides and can destroy agricultural land.
“The Chure is the source of the Tarai-Madhes food basket,” Bhatt said. “If the Chure is not protected, the region will face severe water shortages and declining agricultural production.”
