KATHMANDU, JUN 18 -
Independent Power Producers have urged the government to be transparent and accountable while sending the royalty paid by hydropower projects to the District Development Committees and Village Development Committees.

Presenting a paper titled “hydropower royalty and local ownership of hydropower plants” here on Friday, Shyam K. Upadhyaya, an Independent Power Producers’ Association of Nepal member, said communities concerned should be well communicated about the royalty they are entitled to.

Hydropower projects in Nepal pay about Rs. 1 billion annually as royalty to the government, half of which goes to the DDCs and VDCs concerned. Hydropower royalty constitutes about one percent of the annual budget and about six percent of the non-tax revenue for the government. As per the Local Self Governance Act and Regulations, the government sends 12 percent of hydropower royalty to the DDC of the district housing power plants. The government distributes another 38 percent of the royalty to the districts of a development region that houses a hydropower plant. “The royalty distribution process is slow and cumbersome. Communities hit by the construction of power projects are not getting this,” Upadhyaya said, and consequently, hydropower developers face protests while building power plants. He argued communities be given priority while spending royalty which would help the power developer earn local people’s goodwill.

Posted on: 2010-06-19 09:04

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