Construction Of Nijgadh Airport Shouldn’t Stall

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling to construct an international airport without causing damage to the environment, wildlife and biodiversity, the government has pressed ahead with the works of Nijgadh International Airport in Nijgadh of Bara district in the south of the capital. On Saturday, top leaders of five-party alliance, including Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, inspected the proposed construction site of the airport and expressed their commitment to build it by respecting the Supreme Court verdict.  On Wednesday, the SC released a full text of ruling in which three justices had annulled government’s all previous decisions regarding the construction of the international airport but it did not rule out constructing an international airport as an alternative to Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) located in the federal capital, Kathmandu. 

The apex court justices have asked the government to properly conduct environmental impact assessment (EIA) so that there will be no or minimum damage to the environment while building the airport. An EIA report submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in 2017 states that over 2.4 million trees – small and big - should be felled to build the airport spread over an area of 8,045.79 hectares of land.  The Nepali Army was assigned to cut trees for building access and perimeter roads for the purpose. But the news of cutting a large number of trees drew widespread criticisms, with environment activists taking to the streets against the construction of airport at the expense of wildlife. Terming the EIA as faulty, the apex court also asked the government to carry out fresh EIA before moving ahead with the task of airport construction. Its ruling has sought to follow due legal procedures, embracing the spirit of sustainable development, intergenerational justice and biodiversity conservation.

In May this year, the SC had issued an order of certiorari, overturning the government’s decision to construct the Nijgadh airport on the ground of environmental factor. With the judicial clarity and political commitment, the stalled works of the airport are likely to gain momentum again. Prime Minister Deuba has said that construction of the proposed airport would not be halted under any circumstances. Its works will resume soon causing less damage to the environment, biodiversity and wildlife, he has assured. CPN-Unified Socialist chair Madhav Kumar Nepal said that the government would ensure the environmental balance by planting double number of trees that have to be felled to build the airport office and two runways to be constructed between Bakaiya River in the east and Pasaha River in the west.

The country has been in dire need of another reliable international airport to reduce the pressure on the TIA. From the practical point of view, it is not wise to halt the construction of the Nijgadh international airport where around Rs. 3 billion has already been spent. Nijagadh is considered to be the most appropriate site for the construction of the airport that would not only boost national tourism but also help spur the local economy. There has been conflict between the right to development and right to environment but the political leadership needs to demonstrate an aptitude to balance the both so that prosperity is achieved without hurting the ecology. As the Supreme Court ruling outlined, the EIA should follow due legal procedures and the size of the airport and its capacity should be finalised through consultations with concerned experts. The project should not be stalled.