Chela Industrial Zone Gets Land Use Approval After a Decade of Delays

Dhangadhi: A decade after the government decided in 2015 (BS 2072) to establish the Chela Industrial Zone in Bedkot Municipality, Kanchanpur, the right to use the required land has finally been granted.

The government had decided to designate forest areas in Wards 2 and 3 of Bedkot Municipality as an industrial zone in 2015, defining its boundaries. Work on the Daiji-Chela Industrial Zone, originally proposed in 1995 (BS 2052) to foster industrial development and expansion in Sudurpaschim Province, is now moving forward following the Council of Ministers’ approval to utilize the forest land.

Progress on establishing the industrial zone had previously been stalled due to bureaucratic hurdles. Recently, the Council of Ministers decided to grant approval for the use of national forest land for the construction of the Daiji-Chela Industrial Zone.

Pradip Parajuli, Chief of the Daiji Industrial Zone Liaison Office, stated that the project would now gain momentum following the Cabinet’s approval regarding the use of forest land.

“The file had reached the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest, and Environment last July (Shrawan),” he said. “There are no longer any issues regarding tree felling or land use rights.”

According to him, the proposal now covers an area of 136.59 hectares (202 bighas), whereas the initial proposal had covered 345 bighas. The then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had laid the foundation stone for the proposed Daiji Industrial Zone in Bedkot Municipality, Kanchanpur.

Although the foundation stone was laid in 2021 (BS 2077), the project had remained in limbo as the file concerning tree felling and land use rights circulated within the Ministry of Agriculture, Forest, and Environment.

An office for the industrial zone was established in Bedkot Municipality-2 in February/March 2023 (Falgun 2079), but it currently remains without staff. This year, an allocation of NPR 25 million has been made for the access road to the Chhela Industrial Estate.

Although the Division Forest Office, Kanchanpur, had submitted the relevant file, along with its recommendations, to the Ministry of Forests last July, procedural hurdles had caused further delays in the establishment of the industrial estate.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Malla, President of the Kanchanpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stated that the private sector has long been advocating for and pressuring authorities to establish the industrial estate.

“It is heartening that all procedures have been completed and an environment conducive to on-site work has been created,” he said. “Construction must now be accelerated. Once the industrial estate is established, it will boost economic activity and generate employment opportunities here.”

Similarly, Naresh Bahadur Singh, Ward Chairperson of Bedkot Municipality-2, noted that following the Cabinet’s decision to allow the use of forest land, Industrial Estate Management Limited has advanced further construction work.

“This will create jobs for the people of the entire Sudurpaschim region and foster a favorable environment for entrepreneurs and businesspeople to set up and operate industries,” he said. “Local residents have long been waiting in the hope of employment; it now appears that this hope will be realized.”