Kathmandu – A recent report prepared by Nepal Forum of Environmental Journalists (Nefej) has shown that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the proposed international airport in Nijgadh, Bara should be reviewed, arguing that there are some errors in the report.
The report was handed over to Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai amid a program on Thursday and was later made public. A broader discussion on the contents of the report was held at the program.
According to the report, the government does not have detailed project report (DPR) of the Nijgadh International Airport. The report has suggested that the government should first prepare the DPR of the airport as it can’t take ahead the project without preparing the DPR. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 700 billion rupees.
The report stated that the government endorsed the Environment Impact Assessment in a haste without following legal process. It further stated that the plan to construct smart and airport city by destroying the forest was contradictory and destroying the natural resources in the name of constructing the smart city was not acceptable.
It has been learnt that more than 2.4 million small and large trees will have to be cut down to build the modern airport.
On top of that, the government should think seriously about various issues including managing the Tagiya settlement, managing the real squatters, conserving endangered animals like elephants and tigers, minimizing the impact on birds and wild animals and conserving water sources before taking the project ahead.
Current EIA report can’t be of the airport project: Experts
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