The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition filed demanding a halt to the construction of a hydropower project inside the national park area.

A joint bench of Justices Tek Prasad Dhungana and Shanti Singh Thapa on Nov 19 conducted the final hearing and dismissed the writ petition filed on May 10, 2022 by Sumpa Tamang and others, which demanded that the 30-megawatt Langtang Khola Hydropower Project—being built inside the Langtang National Park area by Multi Energy Development Pvt. Ltd. since 2016 - be stopped.

Supreme Court assistant spokesperson Nirajan Pandey stated that with the dismissal of the writ petition, it is now likely that a more favorable environment will be created for developing hydropower projects inside national park areas.

On June 7, 2022 , a joint bench of Kumar Regmi and Nahakul Subedi had refused to issue an interim order, stating that since various decisions had already been made by the concerned authorities and the required legal procedures had been completed, and construction of the project was already underway, there was no need to continue the interim order as requested in the petition, considering the balance of convenience as well.

Earlier, on June 7, 2022, the court had also rejected the request for an interim order. This project, under construction for the past five years, had become controversial due to concerns related to environmental impact, wildlife conservation, and the interests of the local community. However, with the court’s latest decision, it is now expected that the project, along with other infrastructure plans inside the national park, will gain long-term legal clarity.

On June 8, 2016 , the Government of Nepal (Council of Ministers) decided to grant permission for the construction of the physical structures of the Langtang Khola Hydropower Project inside the Langtang National Park area. The decision allowed the use of 6.46 hectares of land (4.75 hectares permanently and 1.71 hectares temporarily) and the removal of 167 trees and plants located on that land.

To implement that decision, an agreement was signed on July 28, 2016 between the Government of Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, and Multi Energy Development.

NepalPress