Local levels demand the right to use ACAP area

Annapurna (Kaski), March 12: The municipalities within the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) have demanded that they be allowed to use the ACAP area. At a coordination meeting held in Machhapuchhre rural municipality of Kaski on Saturday, 15 municipal chiefs and deputy chiefs put forth six points demand towards that end. Chairperson of Machhapuchhre rural municipality Meen Bahadur Gurung said that the term of ACAP should not be extended. The area of ACAP should now be used by the concerned local levels.

Likewise, Chair of Kaholasonthar Rural Municipality of Lamjung, Suryaprasad Gurung, said that the main source of income for the local government is natural resources, so it is a problem when ACAP keeps the income from natural resources. Chair of Thasang Rural Municipality, Pradeep Gauchan, said that the policies of ACAP has been hindering development works. The construction of a 15-bed hospital in our rural municipality has been obstructed to the ACAP policies not allowing chopping down of trees, he said.

Vice-chair of Machhapuchhre rural municipality, Sita Adhikari, said that because of many problems resulting from the ACAP all the 15 municipal chiefs and deputy chiefs had to meet to form a common opinion. The meeting has decided to submit the memorandum to the federal and provincial governments to resolve the problems in revenue collection due to ACAP and its regulations. The ACAP spreads across the 15 municipalities in five districts including Kaski, Manang, Mustang, Lamjung and Myagdi.