GOVERNMENT OF NEPAL 
MELAMCHI WATER SUPPLY DEVELOPMENT BOARD 
BANESHWOR, KATHMANDU 

The Kathmandu Post: 14 Jan. 2002 

Melamchi Water Supply Project 

His Majesty's Government of Nepal is implementing the Melamchi Water Supply Project, as a project of national priority, with the aim of alleviating the chronic water shortage situation in the Kathmandu Valley. Measures have been provided in the Project to mitigate any adverse social and environmental impacts caused by its activities. The Project has adopted a policy to provide proper compensation of land at the replacement cost levels and appropriate compensation for any losses to buildings, structures, crops, trees, irrigation canals, etc. caused as a result of the project activity. 

In order to procure the land within the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act 2034, the Project has developed a forward-looking Resettlement Policy after extensive study and in consultation with the affected families and other stakeholders. Following the approval of the Resettlement Policy by the Government, field surveys and measurements were carried out by the Project to demarcate the land required for the construction of the Main Access Road (Melamchi –Timbu section) and the Adit Access Road to be constructed for the Project purposes; a general public notice was published for information to the respective land owners. 

Approximately 1600 ropanis of land are required to be purchased in the Melamchi Valley from 1329 plots, out of which 1000 ropanis will be for the purpose of construction of the main and the adit access roads and 600 ropanis for use as the disposal area for construction spoils. Most of the land is privately owned except for few parcels falling under the public forest and riverbank zones. Complaints filed by the landowners regarding discrepancies after the publication of the notice were verified and rectified at the field level to arrive at the final list of affected parcels and landowners. Views and suggestions from the affected families were collected through 14 different meetings of the Compensation Determination Committee (CDC) chaired by the Chief District Officer (CDO) from October 31 to December 30, 2001. 

It was observed by the CDC that compensation award based on the book rates for FY 2001/2002, published by the District Land Venue Office for the purposes of establishing minimum registration book value, would be impractical. For this reason the CDC, besides the suggestions received from the affected families, also considered factors like transportation facility, settlement expansion and market facilities, available facilities like drinking water, banks, and other government offices, minimum registration rates specified by the District Land Revenue Office, land productivity, etc. to arrive at a rate of compensation for the land of any specific location. 

The CDC has also fixed the compensation rates for affected infrastructure like houses, cattle-sheds, etc. on the basis of the Norms approved by HMGN. 

Losses for crops, trees, saplings, etc. will be compensated on the productivity rates and unit rates defined by the District Agriculture Office. Compensation will be award for number of years of loses incurred during the main access road construction. 

The compensation to be provided by the Melamchi Water Supply Project is therefore fixed at realistic present day market values. It is hoped that this project of national priority, which is tied with the long-term development of both the Melamchi Valley and the Kathmandu Valley, will receive an active support from all concerned on its positive endeavours.   

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