KANCHANPUR, Oct 31: Eighteen years after its launch, the Mahakali Irrigation Project — aimed at irrigating 33,520 hectares of land in Kanchanpur and Kailali — has achieved only 27 percent physical progress despite an investment of Rs 9 billion so far.
The project has been moving at a snail’s pace due to budget shortages, delays in land compensation distribution and forest area management issues. “Progress has been slow because of local dissatisfaction over compensation, land-related problems and delays in forest clearance,” said Rajesh Bhakta Pokhrel, senior divisional engineer of the project.
Damage to irrigation amounts to Rs 2.42 billion
According to Pokhrel, a Rs 1.97 billion contract was signed with the construction company to build a 19-kilometer main canal up to Malakheti in Kailali, divided into four phases. So far, 28.8 kilometers of the main canal—from Brahmadev to Phuleli in Shuklaphanta Municipality—have been completed.
As per the Mahakali Treaty, the Indian side has already completed the construction of a 1,200-meter main canal from Tanakpur to the Nepal–India border. The government aims to complete the canal up to Malakheti in Kailali by 2030.
RSS
