Translocation Of Industries
A Must For Environmental Protection

By Uttam Maharjan

TODAY, the world is passing through a series of environmental pollution and degradation. Environmentalists are urging the protection of the fragile environment all over the world. One of the contributing factors to the decadent environment is polluting industries. Some industries spew forth harmful effluents, others consume a lot of water and still others pollute water sources. Anyway, such industries are leading to environmental pollution in one way or the other.

There was talk of translocating highly polluting industries from the Kathmandu Valley in the past. It may be noted that the Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, a Brazilian city in June, 1992 by the UN Conference on Environment and Development. The gathering was participated in by representatives from 178 countries. At the meeting, various treaties and documents regarding harmonising global economic development and environmental protection were signed. And the participating countries pledged to pursue economic development in a way to protect the environment and non-renewable resources.

It was during the meeting that the then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala expressed his commitment to translocate carpet industries from the Kathmandu Valley. At that time, carpet entrepreneurs also seemed to buy the government’s eco-friendly proposal. But sadly, the government could not introduced any programme in the regard, perhaps due to political instability, shift of priorities of successive governments, hassles linked with translocation and indifferences towards it on the part of the government in course of time.

As a result, over the last decade since the Earth Summit not even a single industry has been translocated. A decade is not a short period at all. Now, Kathmandu has changed a lot and its population is growing day by day. With this in view, the city is not in a position to retain old industries, let alone new ones.

It is relevant to note that the government formulated a procedure for establishing new industries in 2052. The procedure aims at controlling the establishment of highly polluting industries in city areas. It has also mentioned those industries that are not to be allowed to be established in Kathmandu. But this procedure has remained fallow now.

The Environmental protection Act, 2053, which is in force now, has provided for environmental impact assessment (EIA) to be conducted before a project is launched or an industry is established. EIA is a management tool of identifying and assessing possible impacts on the environment a new project or industry may produce and recommend the project or industry accordingly.

However, to translocate industries is not as easy as a pie. Industrialists and entrepreneurs may not easily agree on translocating their industries. They may be making huge profits here and not be ready to sacrifice them. So the government should initiate special package programmes so as to motivate them to translocate their industries.

The programmes should focus on classifying all industries and identifying those that need to be translocated. Thereafter, suitable locations should be chosen. Such locations should have various facilities required for the operation of industries such as banking, finance and insurance; markets; transportation and commuting facilities; and other basic amenities like water and electricity. In fact, physical infrastructure development is a must for the smooth operation of industries. If the industries have to be closed down in a short span of time, then translocation will not make any sense; rather, it will have a negative impact on the national economy.

It may be prudent on the part of government to provide translocated industries with various incentives like tax rebates, discounts on utilities and subsidies at least in the beginning years. Besides, translocation cost should be borne, even if partially, by the government. All this will encourage the translocation of industries.

It should also be determined what type of industries should be located in Kathmandu. It is obvious that not all industries in Kathmandu can be translocated outside the city. After the translocation of certain industries, it will be the time for formulating a long-term strategy of developing Kathmandu into a model city by developing basic infrastructures to improve its landscape and also by adopting anti-pollution measures to curb pollution from other sources like vehicles and solid wastes.

It is heartening to note that the government has recently formed a committee under the convenorship of the Director General of the Department of Mines and Geology to locate a suitable site for the Himal Cement Factory as per the policy on translocation of industries. The team has been given one month to submit its report to the government. The team will analyse the availability of raw materials, physical infrastructures, technical appropriateness, environmental impacts, social effects, economic feasibility and other factors that affect industries.

This gesture on the part of the government may be taken as a step towards translocating polluting industries from the Kathmandu Valley. It may be hoped that the government will seriously take the issue of translocating polluting industries in the days ahead.

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