ICP construction in Dodhara Chandani waiting for forest clearance approval

Kathmandu, Jan. 3

The project to construct an Integrated Check Post (ICP) and a Dry Port in Dodhara Chandani Municipality of Kanchanpur District is waiting for approval to clear forest in the project area.

The proposed Rs. 5.76 billion project to be developed in Ward No. 1 of Dodhara Chandani will utilise 42.36 hectares of national forest land in the buffer zone of Shuklaphanta National Park. The plan includes clearing 1,702 trees and poles on the land, as approved by the Cabinet in September 2024.

In line with regulations for infrastructure development in protected areas, replacement land must be provided to the government. Since immediate replacement land is unavailable, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) will receive Rs. 148.26 million for land acquisition and forest development. The allocated funds were transferred to the DNPWC on December 24, last year, informed the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board (NITDB).

Ashish Gajurel, Executive Director of the NITDB, said that the committee is in regular contact with DNPWC and the Shuklaphanta National Park Office to obtain clearance for tree removal. Once the approval is granted, the tree-clearing process will commence.

The Government of Nepal is constructing the ICP and Dry Port in Dodhara Chandani to facilitate cross-border trade. NITDB is an agency under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.

This project, supported financially and technically by the Government of India, follows a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two governments on June 1, 2023.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the project was initially approved on May 1, 2023, and later revised into an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). The updated EMP received approval from the Ministry of Forests and Environment in August 2024.

According to the NITDB, the Indian side has prepared for issuing tender to select a contractor for the construction. The tender process will proceed once the tree-clearing activities are completed, according to information from the Indian Embassy, informed Gajurel.

The project will include facilities such as roads, parking areas, platforms, warehouses, weighbridges, a container yard, passenger terminals, customs offices, banks, quarantine facilities and administrative buildings.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 January 2025.