Haphazard road construction causing environmental problems

The trend of haphazard road construction has not stopped in most districts of Lumbini Province. This practice has intensified especially after the implementation of federalism. As government presence reached the human settlements, unplanned road construction accelerated. Not only elected representatives but also citizens have equated development with roads.

These carelessly constructed roads have not only affected one area but have started to show widespread environmental impacts. According to environmental experts, roads built without proper environmental impact assessments are causing long-term environmental damage. Regulatory bodies have not taken any initiatives to stop this. There is even a lack of coordination between various development agencies. Roads are being built without forging coordination related agencies like the forest department, water supply department and irrigation department, among others. Due to lack of coordination in areas like electricity, sanitation, and drainage management, development projects fail to achieve long-term sustainability. In this situation,  projects worth billions of rupees are being affected. Many projects have been stalled for years due to lack of coordination.

Foods, landslides claim 257 lives

Looking at the data from the last five years, the haphazardly constructed road network has created severe problems throughout Lumbini Province. A total of 257 people have died in all 12 districts of the province due to floods, landslides and inundation in the five-year period. Stakeholders have identified poorly constructed roads as the main cause.

Data shows 57 people died due to floods and landslides in 2019/20, 90 in 2020/21, 49 in 2021/22, 53 in 2022/23, and eight in 2023/24. Likewise, a total of 128 people have been injured, while 5,981 houses and sheds have been damaged, and 1,740 households have been displaced.

SSP Madhav Prasad Shrestha, the information officer at the Lumbini Province Police Office, said the problem of floods and landslides is becoming increasingly severe due to haphazard road construction. “Comparatively, human casualties from floods and landslides are higher in hilly areas than in the Tarai,” he said. “In the Tarai, rescue and relief operations are quicker. But in the hills, damage is often done before help arrives.” 

Shrestha said he has come across chaotic road networks, unplanned settlements, people's tendency to forget about disasters, negligence in disaster management and encroachment on public lands for settlement during rescue operations. “The efforts of security agencies alone cannot prevent natural disasters,” he added.

Displaced by landslides

Four years ago in Jukepani in Isma-1 of Gulmi, a landslide swept away houses claiming the lives of two children. Sixteen-month-old Suraj Saru, son of local Basanta Saru, and eight-year-old Apekshya Khatri, daughter of Ishwari Khatri, were buried in the debris. Locals claim the landslide was caused by road construction above the village. After their homes were buried, the landslide victims have now left for Butwal.

Seven families were displaced this week when floodwaters of the Budhadevi stream entered Budhadevi settlement in Pyuthan-9 of Pyuthan district. Locals have attributed the flooding to the construction of a two-lane road connecting Mallarani and Chunja in Mallarani Rural Municipality. “The impact on downstream settlements wasn't considered when building the road,” said Atmaram Sunar, a flood victim. “They should have consulted local citizens. Roads are being built everywhere without managing the resulting boulders and soil, and we've become victims of floods.”

The road built by Division Road Office Pyuthan, however, is not much in use.  Flood victims complain that roads are being constructed without assessing actual needs. “They are building roads where there isn’t much traffic but keep busy roads in poor conditions,” said 60-year-old Bom Bahadur Bhandari. “What kind of development is this?”

The flood has also damaged the local Sirjanshil Tara English Boarding School.

Basudev Giri, a local, learning and teaching environment has been affected due to the floods. said the flood’s impact has made it impossible to study at the school for now.

Eighteen families were displaced due to a landslide five years ago in Thulo Lumpek in Satyawati-3 of Gulmi five years ago. Locals say 307 houses are at high risk. A team from the Department of Mines and Geology reported that road construction appeared to have caused the landslide. The team concluded that it would be risky to live in the area.

The landslide had claimed 13 lives, while thousands of people were displaced. Most of the landslide-hit families have now moved to urban areas like Butwal and Tamghas.

Water sources have dried up

Haphazard road construction has most severely impacted water sources. Instead of protecting springs, roads have buried them, causing severe drinking water problems in settlements. The drinking water problem is worsening daily across Lumbini Province and nationwide. Springs are drying up, and haphazardly constructed roads using excavators are causing water sources to disappear. Annual forest fires also affect drinking water pipelines and springs. Environmental experts say the impact of forest fire on drinking water supply is not immediately visible. The main causes of springs drying up and new springs not emerging are deforestation for road construction and forest fires.

People lack access to even basic water, let alone clean drinking water. According to the 2021 National Census, only 19.1 percent of people across the country have access to clean water, while 41 percent of households do not have water taps. These people are forced to rely on wells, streams and rainwater. Only 53 percent of households have water taps. While 92.9 percent of citizens reportedly have access to basic drinking water, many of these pipelines don’t actually deliver water. Only 53 percent of pipes regularly supply water. In Lumbini Province, 94.1 percent of the population have access to basic drinking water, but only 14.8 percent have access to clean water.

Senior Divisional Engineer Gunanidhi Pokhrel, spokesperson for the Ministry of Urban Development and Water Supply in Lumbini Province, Gandaki Province, said drinking water problems often arise due to a lack of effective coordination between development agencies. “Construction entrepreneurs might not be aware of water sources downstream when building roads,” he said. “They need to work in coordination with local representatives on this issue.”

He added that this problem is prevalent along the Narayangadh-Butwal road section and in six hilly districts of the province. According to Pokharel, traditional drinking water sources in villages are now hard to find.

In fiscal year 2023/24, 1,154 projects from the provincial government and 545 from the federal government, totaling 1,699 projects, are ongoing in Lumbini Province.

Water supply project affected for three decades

The Jhumsa Drinking Water Project, which has been stalled due to repeated flood and landslide damage, is finally nearing completion. Upon completion, this project is expected to solve Butwal’s perennial drinking water problem. The project was initiated in fiscal year 1995/96) but couldn’t progress due to floods and landslides.

According to Mohan Dutta Bhatta, chief of Butwal Office of the Nepal Water Supply Corporation, the project is in its final stages. “We expect to bring water from Jhumsa to Butwal right after the monsoon season ends,” Bhatta said. “We have already completed 95 percent of the pipeline work and 100 percent of the headworks.”

The project has a capacity to supply 32m liters of water daily. Bhatta informed that due to the growing population in Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, the daily water demand has reached 35m liters. The budget has allocated Rs 145m dam construction and Rs 140.4m for pipeline and bridge construction.

Bhatta said that the office is currently relying on borewells to supply water in Butwal city. “The Chauraha-Gola Park road construction has exacerbated water problems. The Chauraha-Butwal road construction also caused significant damage to this project,” he added.

Forests disappearing 

Forests are being destroyed due to road construction, not only eliminating trees but also destroying wildlife habitats. Dadhi Lal Kandel, Forest Director of Lumbini Province Forest Directorate, said the tendency of constructing roads without conducting environmental impact assessments is destroying forests.

Lumbini Province has a total forest area of 750,000 hectares, of which 200,000 hectares are national parks and protected areas. He added that the trend of clearing forest for road expansion has increased in the last 15 years and it accelerated after the country embraced federalism. “Road network expansion gained momentum from 2007/08,” he said. “After federalism, haphazard road construction became uncontrollable. With local governments established in villages, people gained easier access to power. The general public equated development with roads,” he added.

While large projects consider impacts on forests, water resources, and irrigation, village-level projects often neglect these aspects, he said.

“Such activities are causing problems like soil erosion, floods and landslides. Roads are being built  without proper engineering designs,” he said. “In some places, excavator operators act as engineers in road expansion. This shouldn’t happen.”

Migration on the rise 

The arrival of roads in villages, however, has proved insufficient to retain people. Roads came to villages, but water sources disappeared. Unable to cope with severe drinking water problems, many villagers have migrated to urban areas. Migration has not stopped even after the establishment of local governments. Development has reached villages, but people are moving to cities.

“Village areas don’t have the facilities we need. We have to struggle so much just for water,” said Tika Kumari Karki (41) from Khagreta in Isma-4 of Gulmi. “The problem of drinking water, which we have been facing for generations, hasn’t been solved yet.”

According to Karki, water issues have persisted even after the establishment of the rural municipality.

Local residents say that the tendency to consider only roads as development has overshadowed other development work. Villagers are facing water scarcity as water sources are drying up.

Whither EIA 

The Environmental Protection Act, 2019 and Environmental Protection Regulations, 2020 requires public offices to conduct environmental impact assessments before initiating any development project. Depending on the nature of the project, three types of environmental assessments are conducted: Brief Environmental Study for small projects, Initial Environmental Examination for medium-sized projects, and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for large projects.

“All levels of government must conduct environmental assessments before implementing development projects in their areas. This is a legal requirement,” said Bikash Adhikari, an Associate Professor with the Department of Environmental Engineering at Kathmandu University. “However, most offices have shortened this process to a mere formality which has long-term consequences.”

The assessment process can take anywhere from one month to two or three years. “Environmental impact assessments are often done on paper only, out of fear of the Auditor General,” Adhikari says. “These assessments show whether development projects positively or negatively impacts society. Since this is crucial for sustainable development, they should be implemented in practice.”

He argued that development projects started without conducting environmental impact assessments negatively affect people’s economic and social development as well as influences climate.

Roads are built without studies 

Suchita Shrestha, who works for the Landslide Research Branch of the Department of Mines and Geology, said that village roads constructed without proper studies are triggering floods, landslides and contributing to climate change.

“Road construction has weakened the land. Unplanned urban settlements have also increased in recent years which exposes people to the risk of floods and landslides,” she said. “With people leaving villages, lands are lying fallow. Irrigation canals in fallow land flow uncontrolled, and when water doesn’t flow in the right places. It leads to floods and landslides.”

Sharestha advised concerned authorities to conduct studies and research before initiating road and other development projects.

When excavator operators become engineers

Many local road constructions are found to be carried out without technical study. The excavator operators often have control over road construction, using it at their discretion and disregarding estimates made by technicians or engineers.  

Among 109 local units in Lumbini Province, about 60 percent have purchased excavators and other earth movers. The roads these local units build often do not follow technical estimates. Ward chairpersons, ward members and others instruct excavator operators to construct roads as they see fit. As a result, roads built in winter cause disasters throughout the monsoon season.

No disaster preparedness 

Even seven years after the establishment of local governments, there is no sufficient disaster preparedness at the local level. The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act assigns the responsibility of creating local disaster management laws and action plans to the local units.  

Although the federal home ministry has directed local units to prepare such laws and plans, the local governments have turned a deaf ear. They only become active when landslides devastate villages. They pretend to show concern and work only when local villagers put pressure on them. 

Committees have been formed, but most local units in Lumbini Province have yet to focus on creating the ‘Disaster Management Fund’ required by the law.

However, they are competing with each other in purchasing disaster management equipment. Civil society leaders have commented that this might be due to the possibility of financial manipulation in equipment procurements.

Local people believe government representatives only engage in relief distribution after a disaster occurs, and that too merely for cheap popularity.

Penalties for non-compliance  

The Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2017 has outlined penalties for all concerned failing to comply with its provisions. Those who do not follow orders or directives related to implementing the Act may face fines of up to Rs 50,000. 

As per the Act, Disaster Management Committees must be formed at district level under the leadership of the chief district officer, municipal level under the leadership of mayor/chairperson, and ward level under the leadership of ward chairs. 

These committees are responsible for creating disaster preparedness plans.

However, Guman Raj Pulami, chairperson of the Nepal Red Cross Society, Pyuthan, said local representatives were neglecting these legal obligations even seven years after the formation of local governments. “Distributing relief materials after a disaster alone is insufficient to fulfill the state’s responsibilities,” he added.  

Leading from the front 

Some municipalities, however, have made exemplary efforts in disaster management. Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi is one such example. The local unit has prepared a reliable workforce for relief, search and rescue operations not only within the municipality but for the entire district. 

The municipality has formed ‘Municipal Level Disaster Management Task Force’ in all its 17 wards. Each ward has five volunteers. These volunteers have been trained in disaster response, according to Narayan Aryal, the chief administrative officer of the municipality. “They are fully prepared with necessary human resources, equipment and supplies for disaster response at any time,” Aryal added.

Tilottama has also prepared Disaster Management Fund Procedure. It allocates Rs 10m annually for disaster management.

Similarly, Sarumarani Rural Municipality in Pyuthan has developed a pre-disaster preparedness action plan and provided training to ward representatives and other personnel, according to Chairperson Jhag Bahadur Bishwakarma.  

Challenges

• Lack of coordination in development projects
• Conflicting development and environmental preservation efforts
• Loss of wildlife habitats
• Drying up of water sources
• Environmental impact assessments limited to paperwork
• Increasing migration
• Disappearance of traditional water sources
• 41 percent of households lack access to piped water
• People forced to rely on wells, streams, and rainwater
• Increased road construction issues post-federalism
• Deforestation
• Growing irrigation shortages
• Declining rural production
• Exploitation of Chure region
• Loss of water recharge ponds due to road construction
• Lack of integrated development plan
• People equating development solely with road construction
• Public tendency to quickly forget disasters
• Encroachment on public land
• Security challenges
• Untrained individuals operating heavy machinery

This story has been produced with the support of the Internews Earth Journalism Network through the Media for Inclusive Green Growth project