Another power project in dock

Uttarakhand may lose yet another power project after it was alleged that incorrect information was given to get environment clearance.

Updated on: Apr 20, 2010, 23:38:20 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

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Uttarakhand may lose yet another power project after it was alleged that incorrect information was given to get environment clearance.

Early this month, the Centre had shot down two power projects planned on Ganga river in the hill state over adverse ecological impact.

To get the go-ahead for the Khasiabhara hydel project on Gori Ganga river in Pithoragarh district, NTPC, formerly the National Thermal Power Corporation, and the agency that gave the environment impact assessment (EIA) concealed facts, a environment ministry panel has said. The report, submitted last week, has recommended a clearance review.

The NTPC, which is promoting the project, and the agency that prepared the EIA tried to convey that the Gori Ganga River valley was deficient in biodiversity, says the report. “This needs to be verified… the Gori Ganga valley has been recognised as one of the important biodiversity zones in the entire Western Himalaya Eco Region.”

The NTPC said 73 floral species will be hit, the report puts the number at 3,368. The power PSU identified 10 mammalian species as vulnerable to the project, but the report, prepared by the ministry’s regional office in Lucknow in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, says 76 species will be under pressure.

There are differences on forest area requirement as well. The NTPC said 158 hectares of forestland would be required. The report says 218 hectares will be needed — 18,000 trees will have to be cut.

The report says the 261-MW project couldn’t be examined in isolation as six more hydel projects are being planned in the Gori Ganga valley.

“If all these projects are allowed, it would mean an ecological disaster for this pristine valley,” said a ministry official, part of the committee that conducted site inspection.

The official, however, said they were yet to take a decision on the report. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, who has been calling for impact assessment of all power projects in Ganga river valley, wasn’t available for comments.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

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