The ministry has decided to undertake a site inspection and submit a report to Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh by June 21, after which a final decision will be taken. The ministry will also be taking into consideration a report prepared by IIT Roorkee, detailing the cumulative impact of hydropower projects in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins. The study, commissioned by the ministry in July 2010, was undertaken by the Alternate Hydro Energy Centre at IIT, Roorkee. It has recommended minimum environmental flow for Alaknanda. There are 69 projects that have been already constructed, under construction or proposed to be constructed in these basins.
The Srinagar Hydroelectric project was cleared by the Environment Ministry in 1987, and its capacity was increased to 330 MW in 1995. In April, Bharati had met Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about hydropower projects on the Ganga and its tributaries. Bharati had drawn attention to the Srinagar power project.
She said that the dam's height had been increased without consulting the Centre. She alleged that the BJP government in Uttarakhand had increased the dam's height to an extent as to endanger the centuries old Dhara Devi temple. She had asked the Centre to put all these projects on hold. Read the full report here.
Source: ET Bureau, Economic Times, New Delhi.
