MCA-Nepal has made notable progress in acquiring land to build tower pads for the transmission line as per the Land Acquisition Act, 1977.
MCA-Nepal organized stakeholder meetings in all nine districts prior to the formation of the Compensation Fixation Committee (CFC) under the chairmanship of Chief District Officers of respective districts.
The sequence of activities for the land acquisition leading to rate determination and compensation payment include:
- Formation of Compensation Fixation Committee (CFC) in each district;
- Publication of notices as per Section 6 (1) of the Land Acquisition Act, 1977;
- Land measurement and cadastral verification of parcels;
- Preparation of the Preliminary Action Report and submission to the CFC;
- Publication of notice as per Section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1977 with full details of the land parcels to be acquired. The Section 9 Notice restricts all transactions on the land parcels and provides project-affected people 21 days for application and other claims if any;
- Setting up of a sub-committee by the CFC to prepare the land valuation report;
- Rate determination by CFCs and compensation payment.
MCA-Nepal completed most of the above (from i-vi) activities in nine districts except in Kathmandu district by the end of August 2023. Public notices as per Section 9 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1977 with full details of the land parcels to be acquired have been issued in all nine districts. The notices were issued after MCA-Nepal submitted the Preliminary Action Reports on land acquisition at meetings chaired by Chief District Officers and Chairpersons of the Compensation Fixation Committee of respective districts.
Additionally, CFC meetings have been organized in all nine districts to form sub-committees to prepare technical reports for compensation determination.
In Kathmandu district, where only 4.8 km out of 315 km transmission lines fall, land acquisition activity is on hold due to local grievances and site-specific issues at NEA’s Lapsiphedi Substation site. NEA is engaging in negotiations with the local community and elected representatives to find a possible solution in the near future.
