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The Cabinet decision to allow the use of community and national forest areas for the 132 kV Dadakhola-Rahughat transmission line project under construction in Myagdi has been implemented after a delay of two years.

The Cabinet had approved on February 18, 2024, the use of 25.62 hectares of forest land for right of way and tower construction purposes along the 25-kilometre transmission line being built from Dandakharka in Malika Rural Municipality-7 to Ambang in Raghuganga Rural Municipality-3.

However, despite the approval, the project was delayed as tree-felling orders were not issued, affecting construction progress. According to project chief Roshan Agrawal, work that had been halted has now resumed after the Division Forest Office issued the cutting order only last Friday.

“Construction work in the forest area was halted due to the lack of tree-felling permission,” he said. “Now the work has been accelerated.”

There are 3,936 trees within the project area. Out of the total 82 transmission towers, 40 are located in forest areas while 42 are being built on private land. The project has already purchased 504 ropani of land in October 2024,as compensation for forest use and has provided the first installment for plantation development.

Chief of the Division Forest Office, Banshesh Keshav Adhikari, said the delay in issuing the cutting order was due to the need for on-site verification of approved trees.

This transmission line project is being built to connect electricity generated from hydropower projects in the Myagdi and Rahughat basins to the national transmission system. So far, physical progress has reached 80 percent.

The transmission line and substation construction contract was signed with Larsen & Toubro Limited on December 31, 2021, worth Rs 3.57 billion.

The construction deadline has been extended multiple times, with the current third extension set until May 16, 2026. The project has been delayed due to forest clearance issues, difficult terrain at the Rahughat substation site, disaster risks, and local disputes at some tower sites, according to project chief Agrawal.

He added that the contractor has intensified work by mobilizing additional labor and equipment with the goal of completing the project within the next three months. So far, 71 out of 82 towers have been erected, and equipment for the transmission line and substations has already been imported.

Physical progress stands at 95% for the Dandakharka substation, 70% for the transmission line, and 65% for the Rahughat substation. L&T project manager Subhash Chandra Sharma expressed commitment to completing the project on time.

At Dandakharka, a 133/33 kV, 30 MVA AIS-type substation is under construction, while at Rahughat, a 220/132/33 kV, 200 MVA GIS-type substation is in its final stage.

The project has an estimated total cost of Rs 4.88 billion, with Rs 1.05 billion financed by the Nepal Electricity Authority and Rs 3.82 billion provided as a loan by the Asian Development Bank.

In the Myagdi River basin, four hydropower projects with a combined capacity of 172.8 MW are currently under construction. In addition, several projects have already begun electricity generation, including the 35.5 MW Chimkhola-Rahughat-Mangale, 48 MW Upper Rahughat, 21.3 MW Talo Khola, and 23.5 MW Upper Talo Khola hydropower projects.