Samtenthang resident Tulasi Kumari Jogini, 55, is getting ready to leave her home in order to make room for the Gelephu International Airport project. As part of this significant infrastructural development—one of the main pillars of GMC—224 households from the Samtenthang and Samtenling chiwogs in Samtenling gewog are scheduled to relocate, including Tulasi Kumari.Tulasi Kumari, who received medical care in Kolkata thanks to Bhutan’s free healthcare system, hopes to move closer to medical facilities for her post-surgery care. She favors land replacement above monetary compensation, even though the specifics of the compensation package are still being worked out. After the authorities finished the land and property assessment survey, locals started making preparations, but an official relocation announcement is still waiting.
The international airport project, set to be completed by 2029, is causing relocations and land acquisitions for residents in Samtse and Tsirang. Chandra Maya Thapa, a single mother, and other agricultural nurseries in Samtenling are considering relocation due to land acquisition and planned runway area changes. Samtenling residents face land replacement, direct financial compensation, or tokenisation, with 70% opting for financial compensation. Tokenisation is unpopular due to Bhutan’s low GDP valuation.