E-Kantipur

This October, Nepali students from the 1979-83 Engineering batch of the University of Roorkee of India (now IIT Roorkee) visited their alma mater on the occasion of the silver jubilee of their graduation. They were the first among the five batches of engineers that were known as the “Karnali batch”. The 250 Nepali engineers bear this alias as they were educated with scholarships provided by the then HMG under a UNDP loan in order to be self-sufficient in technical manpower for the construction of the 10,800 MW Karnali Chisapani Multipurpose Project and aid technology transfer.

Little do most people know about this project, also known as the Lower Karnali Project. When the largest of our hydel projects is the 144 MW Kali Gandaki A, even the magnitude of this project might seem farfetched to a normal person. However, much less is known about the fact that when the studies were completed, the first generating unit was supposed to be commissioned within 2003 with complete commissioning scheduled for around 2007/08. For the same purpose, the government had educated 250 engineers in one of the best institutes of India at that time. The last batch of those engineers had graduated by 1988, and the detailed project study completed by 1989. The construction was set to begin in 1994 following the awarding of contracts and a further 10 years were allocated for the first unit to go into generation.

However, in the light of the political events following the people’s movement in 1990, this undertaking was almost completely forgotten. But this was not the only project that had been abandoned owing to various political reasons. From the 20 KW Gaidakot Hydroelectric Project of Chandra Shamsher’s time to most notably Arun III, the list is quite long. Time and again, such national undertakings have struck a sandbar owing to the apathy of succeeding governments. It seems that the political shifts are always ill at ease with the issues of development. However, when the issue of national development is at stake, the issues of petty political bickering should be sidelined for good.

It should be realized that the metaphorical milestones achieved have no meaning unless they are backed by realizable ones. When the Communist Party of China celebrated its 60th anniversary recently, it was said that the party has been holding the reins of the nation for over 60 years not because its ideologies were shared by the majority, but because it has been able to provide the citizens with economic growth and can promise them a bright future. Hence, metaphors such as “the achievement of the century” or the issues of “civilian supremacy” would have no meaning unless they can reflect their changes in the lifestyle of the entire population.

In the case of the Karnali, it might have been shelved owing to its sheer size. The economic, social and environmental implications would have been definitely huge. The study in 1989 pointed out that with a 273-metre-high dam, the reservoir surface area would have been 339 sq km. The project cost was estimated to be a little over US$ 4 billion and about 55,000 people would need to be resettled. These figures, though they are 20 years old, definitely portray the implications of this undertaking. However, it should be born in mind that in this type of project which is mega in size even by today’s standards, such challenges are bound to be raised. But if we dare to dream, these issues need to be addressed appropriately, for the bigger the challenges, even bigger are the returns.

The net benefit of this project was estimated at 7154 million and the benefit to cost ratio (B/C ratio) was estimated to be an average of about 2.18. Further, upon completion, apart from electricity and irrigation, this project would have provided complete flood control to the areas downstream. Above all, it would have been a source of national income with the export of electricity and could have contributed a large chunk to the GDP, thereby eliminating the need to depend on foreigners. In short, the benefits would have definitely outshone the challenges posing hurdles. Maybe that’s the reason why the Somnath Committee (which drafted the action plan for 10,000 MW in 10 years) proposed the commencement of the same project in 2012 and its completion in 2030. If someone among us had dared to undertake this mammoth task 20 years earlier, maybe it is almost a moral responsibility for us to hold that torch next.

Now that the issues of federalism and the rights of indigenous people to natural resources are being fiercely debated, water resources, especially hydropower, need to be addressed with extra care. Unlike other resources, this one resource can never be localized. For instance, the rivers originate in the Himalayas, sometimes further north; the generating stations are located in the hills and the load centre is mostly towards the south — the Tarai and even further. Thus, while the recent political issues are being addressed, this national resource must be addressed wisely so as to prevent any disputes regarding the sharing of resources in the aftermath.

One more thing, every generation must pass a legacy to the next. Our ancestors passed on to us cultural heritage like the Singha Durbar and various other buildings which are testimony to the Rana regime. Even the Panchayat system, which is generally termed the “dark 30 years”, has passed on to us its legacy. The highways on which we tread, almost one-seventh of the generated electricity and countless irrigation and drinking water projects and so on were all built during that time. It is universal fact that politics is ever changing, and what we now term as great achievements, the following generations will have no idea about their implications. We can renounce the system, but its contributions can never be discarded. We have offices in the Singha Durbar of the Rana regime and we tread on the roads, use the electricity and irrigate our lands with infrastructure built during the autocratic system. We can’t renounce them. So, after 10 years, when we look back and evaluate the achievements of the 30 dark years and the 30 years of democracy, let us not make ourselves ashamed. There’s still some time for us to excel so that when the next generation evaluates us, we need not hang our heads in shame.

The most valuable resource of our country — of all countries — is its human resources. The natural resources are there forever, they can be used when we like. They can be left untapped for centuries, yet they will remain the same. However, human resources will not be there forever, those existing will be exhausted within a couple of decades. They need to be regenerated perpetually. Let us hope that such resources, unlike the 250 members of the Karnali Batch, never go untapped again.

peeyusht1@gmail.com

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