‘For free flow, clean Ganga of hydel-projects’

Let the Ganga flow unhindered for a “pristine future”, experts have told the government, calling for a 200-km hydel project-free river stretch, reports Chetan Chauhan.

Updated on: Apr 1, 2010, 02:03:09 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Let the Ganga flow unhindered for a “pristine future”, experts have told the government, calling for a 200-km hydel project-free river stretch.

Receding Himalayan glaciers and Tehri Dam, built over Ganga’s main tributary Bhagirathi, have been cited as the reasons why existing projects should be decommissioned and new ones banned between Gaumukh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand.

Gaumukh is at the edge of Gangotri Glacier — from where Ganga orginates — and is the source of Bhagirathi. The Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar.

Three independent experts of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGBRA) have urged the government to clean the river of hydel projects.

They were part of a six-member government committee set up the authority to review compliance of environment clearance for a 600 MW hydel plant in Loharinag-Pala.

The Tehri Dam, said to be the world’s fifth tallest, was killing the river, the panel has said.

“Visual observations of the state of the river from the Tehri Dam reservoir to Harsil made it clear that Tehri Dam and the Maneri-Bhali-I and II barrages have destroyed the free flowing character of Bhagirathi,” say the experts in a report submitted to environment ministry in March.

In winters, Ganga’s flow is much depleted, meaning hydel projects can’t generate electricity to their capacity. Less water has also affected generation at Tehri Dam as well, the report says.

With Himalayan glaciers receding, the situation can turn worse, warns panel. The government should assess the ecological impact of the receding glaciers on the Ganga.

In view of these changes, experts say, the government needs a policy to de-commission projects.

A ministerial group, led by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has already decided not to go ahead with two projects at Bhairon Ghati and Pala Maneri in the hill state. A panel will examine the impact of existing structures built for at Loharinag-Pala project.

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

Follow India news real-time updates and the latest news covered on Hindustan Times, featuring today's critical updates on Sonam Wangchuk LIVE and more across India.