Hydel proposal win-win for Nepal, India: Ranjit Rae

Indian Ambassador Ranjit Rae today said India’s draft proposal on “Cooperation in Power Sector” was not meant to control Nepal’s water resources, but to create a “win-win situation” for both to utilise Nepal’s huge hydel potential for mutual benefit.



Earlier, India had forwarded Nepal the draft of CPS, detailing the comprehensive aspects of power cooperation between the two countries.

The envoy said Indian and Nepali governments were discussing pricing and ways to generate hydropower in Nepal and erect cross-border transmission lines for exporting and importing hydropower.

Addressing a programme in the Capital today, Rae said, “I think the proposal is a win-win situation for both the countries.” The talk programme, titled Connecting the Sub-continent: South Asia and New Silk Road, was organised by the Centre for South Asian Studies and chaired by Rae. Noted Indian journalist and foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan spoke on the theme. 

The draft proposal has sought assurance to give preference to Indian investors for generating hydropower in Nepal. A section of Nepali media has termed it interference in Nepal’s sovereignty. Indian Embassy in Kathmandu has already refuted the allegation. Rae stated the CPS document was just a draft proposal and Nepal, as a sovereign nation, has full right to share its reservation. 

“It is an agreement between two sovereign nations. Both have full rights to accept or reject it,” he said, adding, “If any party disagrees on any clause, it can be amended.”

He made it clear that it was up to Nepal to decide whether to exploit its water resources or not, whether to export power to India or use it in Nepal. 

He added that electricity could be sold to India only after meeting Nepal’s needs. He said the two countries had not developed even a single joint hydro project in Nepal for the last 65 years due to mutual suspicion.

Earlier, speaking on regional cooperation within South Asia, Prof C Raja Mohan observed that the prevalence of negativism among the intelligentsia in the region has become a hindrance towards better cooperation. “Those outside the government are more negative than those within the governments,” he said, referring to retired bureaucrats, army personnel and civil society’s suspicious attitude towards any initiative taken by the government for broader regional cooperation.

Referring to inaction on regional cooperation front, Nischal Nath Pandey, Director of CSAS, said, “Our foreign secretaries and army generals become wiser after retirement.” –

Source:- The Himalayan Times