E-Paper
540 MW Kwar hydroelectric project: Centre, J&K get NGT notice over plea against environmental degradation
Petitioners attribute the recent landslide and the development of cracks in the land as well as in houses and structures of inhabitants to the ongoing developmental activities
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The National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) principal bench in New Delhi has issued notices to the Centre and the J&K government in connection with a petition alleging environmental degradation amid the ongoing 540-megawatt (MW) Kwar hydroelectric project. The matter has been listed for November 30.
The petition was filed by Guddu Kumar and Sanjay Kumar on behalf of Padyarna panchayat in Nagseni block of Kishtwar district. The petitioners highlighted the alleged “catastrophic” effects of ongoing “illegal” activities in the name of developmental works by Chenab Valley Power Projects Pvt Ltd (CVPPL), which is executing the hydroelectric project in Kwar.
The petitioners attributed the recent landslide and the development of cracks in the land, as well as in houses and structures of inhabitants, to the ongoing developmental activities.
After hearing advocate Muzzaffar Ali Shah, counsel for the petitioners, the NGT observed that the applicants had raised a plea that, in the course of construction of the 540 MW Kwar hydroelectric power project, environmental norms were being violated and muck was being dumped on the slopes, affecting the Chenab River and its basin.
Advocate Muzzaffar Ali Shah further submitted before the NGT that the respondents were carrying out continuous, extensive and excessive blasting operations in the project area, resulting in severe vibrations that had caused structural damage to residential houses in nearby villages, including Sumna Bhatta, Pullar and Padyarna.
The NGT observed that the application raised a substantial issue relating to compliance with environmental norms. The applicants had placed reliance on Clause 5 of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) Risk Management Plan for Kishtwar district and submitted that the report had already identified a high risk from GLOF in connection with the construction of the dam.
The notices have been served on the secretaries of the Union ministries of environment, forest and climate change and new and renewable energy; the chairpersons of the Central Pollution Control Board and the J&K Pollution Control Committee; the UT chief secretary; the Kishtwar deputy commissioner; and the CVPPL managing director.
