On 3 December 2023, representatives of affected Indigneous Peoples and local government members, Shankharapur municipality met with the head of NHRC and other members leading the collective rights division of the commission to discuss on the issues of 200/400 kV Transmission line and substation that have been initiated without obtaining Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
The projects are in Shankharapur municipality, Ward no. 3 in the northeast of Kathmandu — a part of the ancestral lands of Tamang Indigenous Peoples.
The Transmission Line is part of the Electricity Transmission Expansion and Supply Improvement Project ("ETESIP", ADB project# 41155-013), and the substation is being build under the Power Transmission and Distribution Electricity Efficiency Enhancement Project ("PTDEEP", ADB project# 50059-002)– both projects are being implemented by the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the State owned sole utility provider in Nepal.
The affected communities have been struggling with the projects for the past 329 days demanding FPIC and relocation of the substation and realignment of the Transmission Line. The affected communities had several rounds of dialogues with the NEA and Ministry of Energy, water Resources and Irrigation, but not concluded yet. Rather, the security forces are mobilized to push the project forward.
The Indigenous delegates urged the commission to carry out investigation about the maladministration of the projects and stop the human rights violation, militarization and carryout mediation to resolve the issues in an amicable manner.
Top Bahadur Magar, Hon'ble Chairperson of NHRC, is committed to deploy the high level monitoring team on the ground for fact-finding to lay the foundation for mediation.
