Work to halt on Ganga dams, and no new ones

Mar 27, 2012 - Rashme Sehgal |

Age Correspondent

New Delhi

The government expressed willingness to halt all power projects coming up in the Ganga’s Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basi-ns as part of its concessions to 80-year-old Prof. G.D. Agarwal (Swami Gyansw-aroop Anand) to persuade him to break his prolonged fast at the AIIMS here on Friday.

These include the 330MW Srinagar hydroelectric po-wer project, Singoli-Bhat-wari and Phata-Byung on the Mandakini, Khotibhal IA on the Bhagirathi, Vish-nugad-Pipalkoti and Alakn-anda-Badrinath on the Ala-knanda and Devsari on the Pindar. In addition, PMO sources said Prof. Agarwal and the Ganga Mukti Sangram swamis were given a written assurance that no more clearances to build hydrop-ower projects in the Ganga and its tributaries would be granted.
The sources said the agre-ement drawn up by coal minister Sriprakash Jais-wal and PMO minister of state V. Narayanasamy pr-ovided since some projects were in different stages of construction, the power ministry would now determine the compensation to be paid, which may run into hundreds of crores of rupees.

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