Is Dibang Valley project viable? Panel seeks ministry response

NEWDELHI: The environment ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has deferred its decision on granting forest clearance to two controversial projects --the 3,097 MW Etalin Hydropower Project in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley, and the exploration of Uranium in Telangana’s Amrabad Tiger Reserve by Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research.

An FAC subcommittee report on April 21 recommended that the Etalin Hydroelectric Project, which will involve clearing 270,000 trees, be allowed with a condition that the developer deposits money for wildlife conservation in the area, as first reported by HT.

According to the minutes of the April 23 meeting, which were uploaded on the Parivesh website, FAC has sought comments from the power ministry on the Etalin Hydropower Project in view of the following: the project is delayed by six years and the country’s energy plan may have changed during the period; a large number of hydro-electric projects are pending due to environmental and forest clearance concerns; and the tariff structure of the project was high when proposed in 2014. FAC has asked the power ministry to say whether the project is viable in its current form. It also directed Arunachal Pradesh to submit a cost-benefit analysis of the project. It asked the impact assessment division of the environment ministry to check if the environmental impact of the project has been assessed. However, the panel accepted the findings of a controversial Wildlife Institute of India study titled “Wildlife Conservation Plan for Impact Zone of Etalin HEP” and said its findings need to be implemented.

Earlier this month, several scientists and wildlife biologists wrote to FAC, warning about the massive loss of biodiversity if the project were allowed to come up.

Twenty-six scientists in a peer review of the WII study flagged that the report doesn’t reflect a true picture of the biodiversity of Dibang Valley. But FAC said the representations are similar in content and add no “scientific, economic or sociological evidence.”

“We are shocked to see that the FAC has accepted ‘in toto’ the report of WII by accepting the recommendations of its subcommittee... It is a truncated study of a few months...From my study, I found that there are threats to human well-being from natural hazards that cannot be stopped by such projects,” said Chintan Sheth, former research fellow with National Centre for Biological Sciences who was part of the peer-review.

“Why is the government delaying this important project? It’s a source of revenue for Arunachal Pradesh,” said Rohit Mele, Project Affected People Forum.

On the uranium exploration in Amrabad Tiger Reserve, FAC has sought a clear view from Telangana.