CEB’S PROPOSED HYDROPOWER PROJECT A THREAT TO ENDANGERED SPECIES
Hydropower vs endangered fish
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) is planning to add 85 Gw annual output to the country’s electricity supply, with the proposed Moragolla hydro power project. It is a threat to the green Labeo (Labeo fisheri), a critically endangered fish species that lives in that part of the Mahaveli river, where the Moragolla hydro power station is to be located.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was done by the CEB and the Central Environment Authority (CEA) approved the report. The project began and dynamite was being used.
It was then that the dead Labeo fish were detected, until then, they were considered extinct. The project was halted with this discovery, it was revealed that the CEB had not informed the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) of this and the National Aquatics Resources Association (NARA) was instructed to carry out a study to find out whether more Labeo fish are in there. The fish species was to be translocated to the Kelani river in Kitulagala area. It seemed DWC, CEA and NARA are passing the responsibility to each other, as it was evident from their comments.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was to give a 120 Million loan for the relocation of Labeo fish.
According to senior scientist Ramani Shirantha of NARA, the relocation is not going to happen. In that case, what happens to the ADB loan? Nobody knows who got the loan. Every institution related to this is silent when questioned about it.
Moragolla project manager of CEB, Jayarathna, made it clear that nobody could give information without the chairman’s permission. He blatantly said he cannot say anything without written permission and cut the line. We would like to remind all those officers who take cover behind such flimsy excuses that, with the Right to Information Act (RTI act), the public are entitled to information from public officials.
It appears that the government institutions and officials are not well aware of the projects they are carrying out. The responsible people in higher posts are being ignorant, even when they can find solutions to protect nature whilst exploiting for the benefit of the country.the experts must be imaginative enough to find a solution which can protect nature as well as development activities.