Jairam scraps 2 hydel projects on Bhagirathi

Jul 07, 2010 - Age Correspondent |

New Delhi

Minister of forest & environment (MoEF) Jairam Ramesh, announced the scrapping of two major hydel projects, the Pala Maneri (480 mw) and the Bhaironghati (381 mw) on the Bhagirathi river.

Mr Ramesh however, admitted that work on the Loharinag Pala run of the river power project, also on the Bhagirathi and 100 kilometres upstream of the controversial Tehri Dam, would continue.
The minister revealed that the debate on the Loharinag Pala power project is still on but with 40 per cent of the work on the project having been completed by the National Thermal Power Corporation at a cost of Rs 600 crore it is unlikely to be scrapped.
“A decision to this effect was taken on July 2 in which several ministers including the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee were present,” the minister revealed.
Meanwhile, G.D. Agrawal, a prominent environmentalist, continued his indefinite fast on the issue of construction of hydel projects on the Bhagirathi. In June 2009, he had resorted to a similar protest, following which the Uttarakhand government had been forced to suspend the construction work on Pala Maneri and Bhaironghati.
Mr Agrawal and other top environmentalists had opposed the projects on environmental grounds. Their cancellation is being perceived as a major setback to the Uttarakhand government who had been hopeful that they would come through. A high-level environmental committee to assess the ecological impact of the hydel projects on the Bhagirathi had recommended to the MoEF that it was necessary to maintain at least 4 cubecs of water flow during the lean season. This would not have been possible with the construction of more projects on the Bhagirathi, as had been recommended by the Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam.

Comments

People like G.D. Agrawal bake

Era

07 Jul 2010 - 22:10

People like G.D. Agrawal bake their bread on such issues. Whole of his life, he was teaching something else. When at the fag end of life, there is nothing to do, they start to cherish on such issues. Easy way to get publicity.

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