Rejected by panel, hydro project gets ministry nod

The project of GMR Energy Limited is planned in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Forest committee says the project will affect habitat of snow leopard and brown bear.

Updated on: Dec 5, 2011, 02:25:21 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, Chetan@hindustantimes.com

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

A proposed hydro-project in Uttarakhand on the ecologically sensitive Alakananda river, which was rejected twice by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), has received the environment ministry's approval.

The FAC — a statutory body of experts under the Forest Conservation Act — examines projects seeking diversion of forest land with regard to impact on ecology and decides whether it should be allowed. Its recommendations are not binding on the ministry.

The project of GMR Energy Limited is planned in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

The committee had refused permission to the project on the ground that any development in the area will lead to “irreversible” damage to ecology and wildlife.

On May 30, the committee observed that the project is located in the buffer zone of Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, which houses the Nanda Devi National Park and the Valley of Flowers. “Both are UNESCO's World Heritage Sites,” the committee said.

It referred to a report by Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, which said allowing the project will “seriously hamper” the movement of species such as the snow leopard and the brown bear.

In October, when the proposal was again brought for the consideration of the FAC, it refused approval, saying the Uttarakhand government has failed to bring any new facts necessitating revision of the May decision.

But on November 8, the environment ministry gave in-principle approval to the project without mentioning reasons for overruling the FAC’s decision. “After careful examination of the project, the central government hereby accords stage-I approval for diversion of forestland,” read the approval letter by HC Chaudhury, assistant inspector general of forest.

The letter has stipulated 25 conditions, only one of which is on wildlife, which says that the project proponent shall ensure that no damage is caused to the wildlife.

Most of the conditions laid out are regarding compliance of various government rules and regulations and does not say how the fragile ecosystem will be protected. The letter also says after receiving the compliance report of the 25 conditions, the Centre will issue the final approval.

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

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.