End Airport Dispute

There has been palpable conflict between the right to development and right to environment. The nations grappling with widespread poverty, unemployment and poor service delivery are in the urgent need of infrastructural development and industrialisation to attain economic growth and create jobs. It is only through the all-round economic development that scarcity and poverty can be overcome and living standards of people improved. At the same time, a vigorous drive for economic growth entails negative repercussions for environment, which is equally important for a healthy and sustainable life. Heavy industrial production results in the depletion of vital resources, threats on animal and plant species, and air, water and soil pollution, which directly endanger the existence of humans, animals and nature as well.

With rising global warming, triggered by the greenhouse gas emissions, the issue of environment and ecology has become prominent. Environment activists object to big infrastructure projects if they are built at the expense of ecosystem and biodiversity. This has indeed created a tension between development and environment. Nepal has now faced this sort of conundrum after the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the government to stop the construction of the proposed second international airport at Nijgadh, Bara in central Terai and instead find an alternative place for it. In its initial verdict, the apex court states that the airport construction will lead to the felling of millions of trees, causing damage to local wildlife and the ecosystem. 

The court has yet to release its full text of verdict but the environment concern has influenced its ruling that has pitted those wanting to build the airport against the conservationists. The idea of constructing the second international airport at Nijgadh came to the fore more than three decades back to ease the air traffic pressure on the country’s only international airport- Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA). The government has already spent Rs. 1.11 billion for the river control programme, distribution of compensation to landowners and fence building for the airport that covers around 8,045 hectares of land. In the first phase, the project will be implemented on 1,900 hectares of land, requiring the felling of 519,190 big and small trees.

There has been a strong voice that Nijgadh is the right place to make the international airport given that TIA’s operation has reached a saturation level. Air traffic pressure is increasing by 10 per cent annually and current traffic will double in the next 10 years, and the recently opened Gautam Buddha International Airport and the upcoming Pokhara Regional International Airport are unlikely to withstand this pressure. It is also necessary to restructure the routes and improved land infrastructure and equipment. To minimise the loss of wildlife, it has been suggested to limit the boundary of Nijgadh airport within 2,500 hectares out of 8,000 hectares, thereby cutting down low numbers of trees. The international airport operates smoothly on 2,500 hectares of land for 70 to 75 years.

The government has completed 21 per cent works of a 72.5-km Kathmandu-Terai/Madhes Fast Track (KTFT) that seeks to connect the Nijgadh airport with Kathmandu. The fast-track might lose its momentum in case the international airport at Nijgadh is not built. It is imperative to balance between development and environment. For this, we should pursue sustainable development model. The stakeholders should explore middle ground – whether they can construct the international airport at Nijgadh without destroying wildlife and rare natural resources.