A river runs through it.

       Given the centralised nature of development, it is not surprising that the Central and Western Development Regions got most of the hydropower royalties. The parliamentary committee and one which perhaps, has a much more profound bearing on Nepalis is ensuring local participation in the construction of West Seti by providing 10 percent of the stake to residents of the Farwestern region and a further 14 percent to other Nepalis in general. In effect the committee recognised that it is not only those handful of individuals who have somehow managed to wrangle licenses for themselves but that ordinary citizens too, should be allowed an opportunity to directly benefit from nepal's water resources. As per current rules, 50 percent of the royalty goes to the centre, with 38 percent allocated to the development region housing the power project and 12 percent to the concerned districts. It seems a reasonable arrangement except when one looks at how the sharing actually happens. The table here shows figures provided by the Department of Electricity Development on how the hydropower royalty was distributed in 2011. Given the centralised nature of development in Nepal, it is not surprising that the Central and Western Development Regions gobbled up almost all of it, with the other regions getting just a little over 5 percent. Most gallingly the Far West received zilch. If only for that reason, West Seti will prove a boon to the most neglected part of the country. That however will still be a while off. For the foreseeable future, it will be the Central region that will continue to reap the benefits of hydropower royalty with major upcoming projects like Upper Tamakoshi and Middle Bhotekoshi, located within the periphery of Kathmandu. Going back to the question of allowing local investment, it is significant that the parliamentary committee asked that 10 percent be set aside for the region, rather than the district. since it opens the possibility of benefit to a much larger populace whether they live in the mountains or the Tarai. This is also an issue that will have to be given a great deal of thought when we design our model of federalism since we do not want those who live in the Tarai. nearly half the population to be denied our rivers largesse. This is particularly true for people of Tarai origin since many hill people would be able to retrace a connection with their ancestral lands up in the mountains and so claim shares. A major objection is if the kind of money required for massive projects like West Seti can be ratsed domestically. The cost of West Seti is estimated at Rs. 130 billion. The parliamentary committee wants 24 percent of that amount that is Rs. 30 billion to be raised within Nepal with Rs. 13 billion from the Far West alone. These are huge sums of money but the experience of Chillime Hydropower Project gives reason for hope. Chillime set aside 10 percent of its shares to Rasuwa, the district where the project is located and a further 14 percent to other Nepalis. It received commitments of over Rs. 4.2 billion for a share issue worth just Rs. 800 million.