Chapter 3 3.1 Development-induced Destruction: A Consequence of Neglect Environmental Impact Evaluation nvironment Protection Act, the dam was filled with water. Thousands E1997 makes Environment Im- of villages were inundated and flooded. pact Evaluation (EIA) compulsory for any Physical and biological destruction caused development activity related to the envi- a biological crisis. Three Gorges Dam has ronment. EIA, environmental rules and cause as a serious problem for the Chi- laws are not against development; they nese government, just like Tibet and Tai- are for the promotion of environmentally wan. The dam was constructed without sustainable development. Here, one may considering the environmental impact ask: What is an EIA? An EIA is a process and neglecting the recommendations of of scientifically addressing the environ- environmental experts. This example is ment in the course of physical develop- representative of the recent physical de- ment. An EIA defines the systems, from velopment taking place in Nepal. Nepal biological to ecological, in the course of de- will have to pay a heavy price in terms of velopment that protects the sustainable the environment in the future if this issue development and ownership of offspring. is not timely addressed. This focuses on sustainable and environ- Ministry of Forest and Environ- ment-friendly development. ment and Environment Protection Coun- There are enough laws and rules cil was established in Nepal in 2048 BS regarding EIA in Nepal. Development ac- and 2049 respectively. The Government tivities carried out by the developed coun- of Nepal issued the National Environ- tries have shown the destruction caused mental Impact Assessment Guideline in by such activities when these laws are not 1993 and the Environment Protection Act implemented effectively. Three Gorges and the Environment Protection Rules in Dam of China is a classic example of the 1997. consequences a country has to face when Article 30 of the Constitution of development activities are undertaken Nepal, 2015 guarantees the right to live without carrying out an EIA. Considered in a clean and healthy environment. Sub- as the world’s largest hydropower station article 2 of the same Article ensures the in terms of the installed capacity, the dam right to obtain compensation, in accor- was envisioned in 1919. Mao Zedong even dance with the law, for any injury caused wrote a poem about the dam in 1956. by environmental pollution or degrada- Construction of the dam began in tion. Further, Article 37, under the Fun- 1994. Its completion in 2006 was taken as damental Rights section, guarantees the a huge achievement and celebrated with citizen’s right to housing. Article 37 (1) much fanfare. However, more than 1.3 provides for the citizen’s rights to ad- million people were displaced even before equate housing while Article 37 (2) pro- Nepal Human Rights Year Book 2020 71 hibits eviction of citizens from their resi- slide. Among these, Tamlichha, Dumre, dence except in accordance with the law. Baraha, Pokhari, Iname, Siddhipur, Aap- tar and settlements around these areas Background are more at risk. At the national ranking Udaypur district falls under Prov- of risks, Udaypur stands at 42nd place in ince 1. Covering the Inner Madhes area terms of the landslide, 16th in terms of from the Mahabharat Hill flood and 36th in terms of overall disas- Range in the north to the Chure ter. The district is surrounded mainly Range in the south, Sunkoshi River sep- by Bhojpur and Khotang and some parts arates this district from Okhaldhunga, of Okhaldhunga from the north, mostly Khotang, Bhojpur, and Dhankuta dis- Sindhuli from the west, Siraha and Sap- trict in the north and the east. The Chure tari from the south and mostly Sindhuli Range separates Udaypur from Siraha and some parts of Dhankuta from the and Saptari district. Divided into hills east. These nine districts form borders and Inner Madhes region, the district of Udaypur district, which is the second has a rugged topography. The district is highest in terms of maximum districts covered by hills with a steep slope and surrounding a district in Nepal. Current- has settlements with a low population. ly, there are four municipalities (Triyuga, Plainland lies between the foothills of Chaudandigadi, Belaka, and Katari) and the Mahabharat Range and the Churiya for rural municipalities (Rautamai, Uday- Range whereas dense forests cover the purgadhi, Tapli, and Limchungbung) in southern boundary. The district covers an this district.1 area of 2063 square kilometers. In terms of topography, the district consists of high Potential Land-erosion Area hills, low valleys, small valleys (plateau), Since almost 60 percent of the area and Tarai plainland. The district comes of the district is covered by hills, there are at the 20th place in terms of area in the mostly steep slopes. Much of the area of whole of Nepal and is the fourth largest the district is landslide prone as the land- district in the Province 1. conservation and structure are complex Tarai and Chure region cover six and weak. Moreover, the haphazard road percent of the district with elevations construction carried out in the name of up to 360 meter, Inner Tarai 52 percent development without conducting an EIA and Mid-hill 42 percent with Chittretham is making the situation worse every year. peak as the highest point at an altitude of As much of the area is hilly, the loose soil 2310 meter. More than 60 percent of the from the top surface flows towards the high and middle hills, which have a com- lower areas. This has caused flooding, plex and weak physical structure, consists washing away of land by the river, and of at least 30 steep slopes. These slops are rapid increase of the riverbed. prone to landslides. Earthquakes of 1934, According to statistics, riverbeds in 1988 and 2015 left cracks in these slopes. the Tarai region of Nepal increase by 15 They are at risk of collapse at any time cm on an average every year. However, it due to the pressure created by water that is estimated that the riverbeds are rising seeped inside these cracks and road con- by 1 m in Udaypur. If the riverbeds con- struction. People living at the settlements tinue to rise by this level, in a few years below areas are also at high risk because the rivers will make their way to areas of this. of human settlement, farming land and Steep slopes of the hilly areas of mounds may be seen in areas where the the district are prone to flood and land- river flowed before. Land productivity of 1. The article “Udaypur District and Natural Disasters” written by Chief District Officer Dhruba Bahadur Khadka and published in the “Milan Smarika: 2019” by Karmachari Milan Kendra 72 Development-induced Destruction: A Consequence of Neglect of Environmental Impact Evaluation the district has been decreasing because 2. Seek vigilance and legal measures to of the gorges formed in many places by be adopted while expanding the road the flow of the topsoil from the hills and network the landslides. This is adversely affect- 3. Bring out the implementation status ing the livelihood of the local people. The of the provision to compulsorily con- lower belt of the Chure region suffers the duct EIA in development activities most from landslide and burying of lower 4. Explore the implementation status of areas by the accumulation of soil deposit. existing laws regarding environment Every year, many tons of sand soil flow protection downhill from the Chure hills and bury 5. Support the government to be ac- nearby lower areas. Similar problems countable for the situation of families have been created by the soil flowing from displaced by road and help to find so- the Mahabharat hills.2 lutions 6. Inform about the government’s invest- Road Condition in the District3 ment in roads and their use The total length of road: 1689 km 7. Discourage the irresponsible activities 1. Belaka Municipality has road length taking place in the name of develop- of 257 km, of which 20 km is black- ment topped, 147 is earthen and 90 km is graveled. Significance of the Study 2. Chaudandigadhi Municipality has Nepal’s laws make it mandatory 220 km road, of which 42 km is black- to conduct an EIA before carrying out topped, 102 km graveled and 76 km is development activities. Additionally, the earthen. Council of Ministers prohibited using ma- 3. Triyuga Municipality has 370 km chines in the construction of small roads, road, of which 45 km is black-topped, except in the Projects of National Pride, 77 km graveled and 248 km is earthen. and decided to handover the construction 4. Katari Municipality has 281 km road, of these roads to local people. The govern- of which 50 km is black-topped, 58 km ment seems to have taken this decision graveled and 173 km is earthen. to minimize the damage caused by the 5. Udaypurgadhi Rural Municipality has shaking of the ground when operating the 312 km road, of which 22 km is black- heavy machinery in the hilly areas the topped, 192 km graveled and 120 km subsequent soil erosion and also to cre- is earthen. ate employment opportunities. It is also 6. Tapli Rural Municipality has 69 km incumbent upon the government to imple- road, of which 2 km is graveled and 67 ment this decision. km is earthen. The haphazard use of bulldozer in 7. Rautamai Rural Municipality has 416 road construction has put village/settle- km road, of which 9 km is graveled ment at high risk of landslide. Some have and 407 km is earthen.