Dear Friends/Co-sailors,
I am delighted to share a good piece of news from the
ecology front.
As you can see from the following news, the Supreme Court
monitoring committee formed by the ministry of environment and forests to study
24 proposed hydro projects on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in
Uttarakhand has unanimously decided not to recommend 23 of the new projects,
worth 2683.6 megawatts.
The 13-member committee, that composes of experts from
various fields comprises experts, has rejected these projects as they are proposed
in either eco-sensitive zones or within forbidden zones of wildlife sanctuaries
or parks, in habitats of rare, endangered and threatened species.
Ranjan
==========
SC committee rejects 23 of 24 proposed Uttarakhand hydro
projects
Seema Sharma,TNN | Apr 9, 2014, 07.20 AM IST
DEHRADUN: The Supreme Court monitoring committee formed by
the ministry of environment and forests to study 24 proposed hydro projects on
the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers in Uttarakhand has published minutes of
meetings on the MoEF website, and unanimously decided not to recommend 23 of
the new projects, worth 2683.6 megawatts.
The committee was set up in October 2013 after the SC took
note of a Wildlife Institute of India report that pointed the extensive threat
to biodiversity because of these projects. The court directed the MoEF to set
up a committee to examine the projects. The committee's recommendations could hit
Uttarakhand's ambitious plan for self-sufficiency in the power sector.
"We compute the cost of producing one megawatt of power
at anything between Rs 8 crore to 10 crore," a senior Uttarakhand Power
Corporation Ltd official told TOI on condition of anonymity on Tuesday. By his
reckoning, the cost of shelved projects could be as high as around Rs 20,000
crore. The minutes of the meetings were uploaded on UPCL website a few days
ago.
Members of the committee approved only one of the 24
projects, Kotlibhel (195mw), saying it was in a "comparatively low
biodiversity sensitive area", and would not significantly impact wildlife.
However, they noted that the project could impede the free flow of the river up
to 20 km downstream.
The 13-member committee comprises experts from various
fields. Member-secretary YKS Chauhan told TOI that immense pressure is being
exerted on members from various quarters not to recommend closure of the
projects. The committee has rejected most of the projects, as they are proposed
in either eco-sensitive zones or within forbidden zones of wildlife sanctuaries
or parks, in habitats of rare, endangered and threatened species.
Some are in ecologically sensitive zones. The site of the
proposed Rambara Project (24mw) on Mandakini river was washed out during the
June 2013 deluge. Alaknanda project (300mw) and Khairon Ganga (4mw), are
proposed within 10 km of the Valley of Flowers National Park, a World Heritage
Site, in violation of SC directions.
Lata Tapovan project (170mw), Malari Jhelam (114mw), Jelam
Tamak (126mw) and Tamak Lata (250mw) on Dhauliganga river also fall within the
Nanda Devi National Park, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Two projects on the Rishi Ganga river, with a capacity of
105mw, have also been proposed within a 10-km radius of Nanda Devi National
Park. Hemant Dhyani, a member of the committee, said, "These 24 projects
will leave a serious negative impact on the biodiversity of the surrounding
areas. The state government should revoke these projects immediately."
Speaking of other projects not listed along with these 24,
the members expressed concern that approval was granted to Lakhwar (300mw) and
Vysai (120mw) recently, without the mandatory clearances, and also without an
approved disaster management plan.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-committee-rejects-23-of-24-proposed-Uttarakhand-hydro-projects/articleshow/33478846.cms
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