2 ministries hold talks to strengthen cooperation between energy development environmental protection

KATHMANDU: The Ministry of Forests and Environment and the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation held a high-level coordination meeting today to address procedural and legal hurdles affecting hydropower and energy projects within forest areas.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Forest Minister Madhav Prasad Chaulagain and Energy Minister Anil Kumar Sinha, and attended by secretaries, department heads, division chiefs, and senior officials from both ministries.

Discussions focused on long-standing challenges related to land-use rights within forest areas, approval mechanisms, and procedural complexities that have delayed the implementation of several energy and hydropower projects.

Participants highlighted the need to streamline forest-use permits, environmental clearances, and inter-agency coordination to remove bureaucratic bottlenecks.

Representatives from the Nepal Electricity Authority and the Department of Electricity Development were also present.

They shared insights into the legal, administrative, and technical obstacles encountered during project implementation.

The meeting reached a consensus on strengthening institutional coordination to strike a necessary balance between environmental conservation and energy development.

Both sides agreed to facilitate stalled hydropower and energy projects while upholding environmental safeguards.

Emphasizing eco-friendly development, the meeting concluded that approval processes must be made more efficient and effective without compromising environmental standards.

The two ministries committed to activating regular coordination mechanisms to resolve pending project issues and to jointly advance sustainable energy development, environmental protection, and Nepal’s national development goals.