Chure Region: Nepal’s rich belt of resources

The Chure Area of Nepal spreading across eastern Illam to West Kanchanpur, covering over 12.78 percent of 37 districts in total, today is known for its stone ballast and sand excavation sites.

As per the directive from the Government of Nepal, stone ballast and sand are natural resources of the state and those looking to get involved in extracting said resources have to do it based on the established rules and regulations as set by the government.

Today the stone and sand excavation business is very limited , due to the regulations about excavating that stipulate that the extraction can only be done after an extensive environmental study by 137 local bodies have created the exclusivity in the business seen today. With the onus being on expanding the business to more construction and excavation companies, the President Chure Terai Conservation and Development have been conducting additional on-site investigations to assure the quality of the excavations being done and also to help open up business to more companies in the region.

Currently a lot of the excavation companies do not meet the requirements of the set criteria. These companies have increased lately due to a lack of proper monitoring. The Government has turned to the District Coordinating Committee to monitor these activities to ill-effect. With the common consensus amongst the officials of the committee being that the weakening of the monitoring and quality checks is a direct result of a lack of proper authority and executive body in the region.

Looking at the Chure region as a whole, the common problem that comes up the most is the presence of illegal settlements in the region. From east to west the number of illegal settlements propping up along the highway has led to increased populations which has increased the need for basic necessities thus making the resources available in the area and businesses scarce.

This upturn in numbers but downturn in resources and business has led to the people of the area suffering tremendously. In conversation with Nepal News, a member Secretary of the committee working in Chure informed us, “People living in Chure, especially the one living in the lower riverside areas, suffer the most.”

With the ever changing political landscape of the nation, there is a desperate need to integrate the federal and local government at the executive level in the CHure region to see any sort of development activities or strategies move ahead. The region must look towards using its fertile lands and plentiful resources to create more employment and income in a sustainable manner.