Chinese Damak Clean Park project stalled; Locals in agitation

Due to the neglacy and controversy of the concerned authority the work of Damak Industrial Park od Damak, Jhapa has been stalled. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, to appease China laid the foundation stone for the construction of the park in February 2021.

The construction of this park, which was laid with great fanfare and pomp by promising to improve the economic condition of the country, provide employment for one lakh people, and to bring about a revolution in the industrial sector has been stalled for a long time.

About 10 years have passed since the decision to build the park, eight years have passed since the acquisition of land and two years have passed since the foundation stone was laid , but the work has not yet progressed and the locals have also been expressing dissatisfaction about the land acquisition and the agreement after the construction of the park.

This plan, which is said to be under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, is sure to cause a large number of local uprisings in Damak and other municipality of Jhapa.

Locals have been protesting since the beginning that the compensation for the land provided by them for the industrial park was low. On the other hand, with this project of taking the Chinese influence closer to the Indian border, there is a maximum chances for India to be irritated.

The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli laid the foundation stone of the park on February 28, 2021. Damak is also Oli’s constituency. Locals were also excited for the project earlier. However, the project has become a victim of corruption, compensation disputes, and irresponsibility on the part of the Chinese side.

According to Industrial Zone Management Limited, only half of the land has been acquired yet for the park which is supposed to be built on covering 2,100 bighas of land (one bigha = 6,772.63 square meters) in Damak, Gaurahadaha, and Kamal Rural Municipality.

The Investment Board for the Industrial Park approved the investment worth 64.41 billion in the first phase in the first phase on October 2019. Former Prime Minister Oli approved the foreign investment to be brought by the Lhasa Economic and Technology Development Zone Jingping Joint Construction Project.

On 4 October 2019 of the same year, an agreement was reached between the Investment Board and the Lhasa Economic and Technological Development Zone Investment Development Company for the construction of the park. The Park Construction Agreement was signed by Board Chairman Maha Prasad Adhikari and Park Chairman Gobind Thapa. However, even though so many processes have been completed for the construction of the project, the work is at a standstill.

Damak Municipality Mayor Ram Thapa, says that work should proceed only after addressing everyone’s dissatisfaction.

According to the Land Acquisition Act, the recommendation committee with land surveyor under the coordination of Chief District Officer has fixed the rates of three types of land. Accordingly, the price per bigha has been determined.

But the locals are dissatisfied with the compensation rate of land. The Chairman of the Damak Clean Park Struggle Committee, Khagendra Bhattarai , says that they cannot give land as per the valuation as it is assessed 80 percent less than the government rate. For the same reason, the locals have also filed a case in the Supreme Court against the Industrial Area Management Limited, which has not yet been heard.

Struggle Committee Chairman Khagendra Bhattarai, Member of the House of Representatives Mahendra Kumari Limbu, Damak Municipality Mayor Ram Thapa, Deputy Mayor Regina Bhattarai, Maoist Leader Gagan Puri, Prakash Thapa, and others reached Baluwatar and submitted a written memorandum to then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on 4 August.

The voice of Clean Park victims should be heard, the reality of the park should be made public, the construction work of the park should be transparent, the problem of compensation should be resolved by negotiating with the landowner etc, said the memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister.

China’s Lhasa Economic and Technology Development Zone Jing-Ping Joint Creation Construction Project Development Company Limited came forward for the construction of the park. From 25 December to 29 December 2017, the Chinese high delegation visited the construction site of the industrial park. However, now the Chinese side is itself without contact.

If this plan is implemented, Chinese businesses will dominate in Nepal for years. Similarly, although Chinese companies will benefit from this project, locals will be forced to lose land at the beginning. According to the agreement, the construction period of the park will be ten years and the Chinese will operate the park for 40 years, and then it will be handed over to Nepal.