POKHARA, Nov 22: The Nepal-India secretary-level meeting on water resources on Sunday finalized the terms of references (TOR) of Pancheshwar Development Authority (PDA). The two sides have agreed to ratify the agreements reached in the past and to establish the PDA by January 2010.
“In this meeting, we have succeeded to finalize the TOR and jurisdiction of the PDA. Hence, this meeting was more successful than the ones held in the past,” said Shankar Koirala, secretary at the Ministry of Energy, who headed the Nepali talks team. He also claimed that the Nepali side has succeeded in incorporating provisions that would be advantageous to Nepal.
Terming the PDA as a milestone for the development of energy and water resources sectors in both the countries, Koirala described the meeting as a good beginning.
According to Koirala, there will be two bodies in the PDA -- the governing body and the executive committee. Both the bodies will have equal number of representatives from the two countries.
As per the agreement, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the authority will be selected on the basis of free competition. The candidates vying for the post may be a citizen of either of the two countries. The Additional CEO (ACEO) will be selected from the country other than that represented by the CEO. “Both the CEO and ACEO will not be from the same country,” Koirala informed. Other employees will be selected from both the countries.
Similarly, water resources secretaries from both the countries will hold the position of chairmen. The head office of the authority will be based in Mahendranagar of Kanchanpur district. The governments of both Nepal and India will invest equal money for the operation of the authority. Besides, Pancheshwar Development Fund would also be set up.
The Indian side also agreed to build a re-regulating dam of the Pancheshwar project at Rupaligadh of Dadeldhura district instead of Purnagiri.
The two sides also agreed to construct an outlet in Kalkalawa bund constructed by India near the Nepal-India border. The Indian side has expressed its willingness to construct the outlet before the monsoon.
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