Recommendation to revoke the license of promoters who do not carry out construction work for a long time
लगानी न्यूज
Kathmandu. A high-level committee formed to review the current status, progress and effectiveness of the licenses issued by the Department of Electricity Development has submitted its report to Minister for Water Resources and Irrigation Biraj Bhakta Shrestha.
Receiving the report of the committee, Minister Shrestha thanked the committee members for fulfilling their responsibility in a serious manner and said that the suggestions included in the report would be implemented immediately along with legal and technical evaluation.TAG_OPEN_div_34
TAG_OPEN_div_32 The committee has submitted a report with suggestions on the need for comprehensive policy, legal and structural reforms in the licensing system. A high-level committee was formed on April 2 to review the present status of the licenses issued by the Department of Electricity Development as per point 74 (b) of the 100-point Government Reform Action Plan of the Council of Ministers. The high-level committee led by Mohan Shakya, joint secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation comprises Dr Diwas Bahadur Basnyat, Nikunj Bhandari, Shalikram Bhandari and Jeevan Rana Magar as members.
{{TAG_OPEN_div_30} The committee has submitted a report to the Ministry with suggestions for improvement by identifying policy, technical, financial and legal weaknesses in the process of issuing licenses and making detailed study of the status and progress of the licenses issued so far.
The committee has recommended to initiate the process of scrapping the license of the promoters who do not continue the construction work for a long time even after the completion of the power purchase agreement (PPA) as per Section 8 of the Electricity Act, 2049.TAG_OPEN_div_28
The report has suggested various policy reforms to make the license distribution system more transparent, competitive and in line with national interest.TAG_OPEN_div_26 The committee has pointed out the need of maintaining uniformity through necessary legal amendments by reviewing the contradictory and ambiguous provisions in the Electricity Act-2049, Electricity Regulations-2050, Hydropower Development Policy-2058 BS and directives related to licensing.
Likewise, it has been suggested that the Investment Board, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Energy should fix clear responsibilities by removing duplication in the jurisdiction regarding the license and investment approval of electricity projects.TAG_OPEN_div_24 The report states that important issues like amendment of license, management of project bank and sale and transfer of license should be incorporated in the regulation by incorporating them in the legal level above the directive.
The committee has also pointed out the need to make legal provisions in line with the national interest by removing the existing ambiguity regarding the process of transfer of ownership of the project, operation management and revenue collection after the expiry of the production license.TAG_OPEN_div_22 Suggesting that the existing ‘first come, first serve’ system should be transformed into a competitive bidding system, the committee has recommended bringing a new electricity act clarifying the provisions related to electricity trade and the jurisdiction of the federal, provincial and local levels. The committee has also suggested preparing a national electricity development plan, transmission line master plan, power demand master plan and minimum cost generation plan.
Similarly, the committee has suggested to make legal provisions to complete the environmental approval and environmental impact assessment (EIA) process related to forest, protected area, national park, buffer zone and other areas within 12 months.TAG_OPEN_div_20
The committee has also recommended the government to bring ‘Sunset Law’ to remove obstacles seen in land acquisition, use of forest area, supply and use of explosives for the project and to provide all permissions and approvals related to the project through a one-door system.TAG_OPEN_div_18
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