Nepal

Govt committed to constructing Nijgad airport, says Minister Yogesh Bhattarai

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Kathmandu, September 5 Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai today said the government was determined to construct the proposed Nijgad International Airport in Bara despite criticism from all corners. &I know I will face criticism for executing the project.

But I cannot please everyone.

There will be protests, but I will face them with patience,& Minister Bhattarai said. He was speaking at a programme organised to make public ‘Report on Environmental, Social and Economic Impacts of the International Nijgadh Airport, Bara& prepared by Nepal Forum for Environmental Journalists. NEFEJ report has raised questions on the project for its failure to draft the detailed project report. The report has urged the government to carry out extensive study on environmental impact of the project before executing the project. NEFEJ has pointed out 11 major lapses in environment impact assessment report of the proposed airport, which was okayed by the Cabinet in May last year. The EIA stated that 2.45 million trees needed to be felled in the forest area of 8,049 hectare.

It also suggested that 25 new saplings should be planted for each tree cut down for the project, but it did not mention anything about the place and time for doing so, according to NEFEJ. Other major weaknesses in the EIA report were, it remained silent on the issue of water resources that will be affected by the proposed airport in the area, impact of noise pollution on the wildlife and exotic species, impact on Chure area, possible floods due to deforestation and relocation of people from Tangia settlement. NEFEJ has also raised question over government ability to control possible encroachment of the forest area after the construction of the airport. NEFEJ also questioned why Nepal needed a big airport covering 8,000 hectare land, which if will be three times bigger than some of the world largest airports such as the UK Heathrow Airport, India Indira Gandhi International Airport, and Thailand Subarna Bhumi Airport. Answering queries of the stakeholders, Minister Bhattarai said that he was aware about the possible impact on the environment caused by the project. &We will ensure that the project will have least impact on environment,& said Minister Bhattarai. The post Govt committed to constructing Nijgad airport, says Minister Yogesh Bhattarai appeared first on The Himalayan Times.




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