NEW DELHI: An expert committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) will consider the 3,000 MW Dibang hydroelectric power project in Arunachal Pradesh soon, for which the erstwhile UPA Government had twice denied environmental clearance. The proposal which had been rejected in April and July last year, will come up for before Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) during a meeting slated to be held on September 22-23.
The MoEF is taking a fresh look at the proposal with the Power Ministry throwing its weight behind it. Power Secretary P K Sinha, in a letter dated July 16, had asked the MoEF to review the decision of FAC and accord the stage-I forest clearance to the project.
The MoEF,in a letter dated August 28 to the Arunachal government, had made it clear that the FAC had “recommended rejection of the proposal citing the biodiversity of the proposed area”. According to the FAC, the proposed site is home to a large number of endemic and endangered flora and fauna. Apart from this, the Rs 1,600 crore National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd project will also entail felling of 3.24 lakh trees. As 170 hectares of the proposed site is within 10km radius of the Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, wildlife clearance is also needed to press ahead with the project. At a meeting held on July 19, it was decided to submit a report on sensitivity analysis of dam height reduction to the MoEF. The matter was further discussed in a joint meeting of Ministry of Mines, Steel, Environment and Coal and the Power Ministry, after five days, submitted a sensitivity report on the dam height reduction up to 20 m. However, on further examination, the ministry found that the sensitivity analysis report was not submitted by the project proponent as decided in the meeting. Accordingly, the MoEF suggested to submit sensitivity analysis of reduction of dam height up to 40m for further consideration. Asked about the Dibang project reconsideration, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said, “Rejection doesn’t mean it was a correct decision and it is valid that it can be passed.”
Meanwhile, the decision to reconsider the project drew strong protests.