Water resources strategy falls short of targets

Water resources strategy falls short of targets
eKantipur.com, 8-Aug-2007
BY THIRA L BHUSAL

The government has failed to meet all the targets set by itself in the Water Resources Strategy, in the sectors of hydropower development, water supply, sanitation, and irrigation, among others. Either the targets are under-achieved or no work has been done to meet them.

While launching its short, mid and long-term Water Resources Strategy in 2002, the government had set several targets. In its five-year (short-term) strategy, the government aimed to generate 820 MW hydropower to meet projected demand, including 72 MW for export by 2007. The country produces maximum 560 MW from hydropower plants as of today.

Likewise, it had targeted to have the private sector contribute 75 percent of the total investment in hydropower sector by 2007. However, Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), in its Corporate Plan, says, "extremely limited investment capability of the country continues to remain one of the major impediments in the development of the power sector.

"The current private sector investment trend in the the power sector is not encouraging," NEA says in the document. "The continuing investment of the private sector in only small capacity plants in the 1-5 MW range, does not provide any substantial relief in meeting the growing needs of the country's power system," it says.

Water Supply and Sanitation

The government target was to provide access to water supply to 85 percent and safe sanitation to 60 percent of the population by 2007. Likewise, 85 percent would be aware of good hygiene practices by this year, as per the plan.

However, only 77 percent of the people had access to water supply, while 37 percent of the urban population and only 20 percent of rural people used improved toilets by the end of the last fiscal year, according to the concept paper of a three-year Interim Plan prepared recently by the National Planning Commission.

Irrigation

The strategy envisioned increasing round-the-year irrigation to 60 percent of irrigated land. However, officials at the Department of Irrigation informed that only 42 percent of irrigable land has year-round irrigation facility so far.

Why the failure?

When asked about failure in achieving almost all of the targets, Shital Babu Regmee, Executive Director of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat (WECS), under the Ministry of Water Resources stated lack of political commitment as a major hindrance, apart from the decade-long insurgency in the country.

The targets are not ambitious, according to him. "Just completing a single major hydro project would be enough to achieve it (hydropower target)," Regmee said. As long as political leadership cannot come up with a concrete policy about exploiting water resources, the government cannot achieve such targets, he added. "The leadership should dare to take bold decisions and be able to convince the public," he said.

The first hydroelectric project in Nepal established at Pharping in 1911 generated 500 Kw. Nearly 100 years later, we now generate 560 MW electricity in total. "Where will we reach at this pace?" asked a senior divisional engineer at WECS.