ATHIRAPPILLY: The Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), led by eminent ecologist Madhav Gadgil, has said the proposed 163-MW Athirappilly hydroelectric project would not be implemented until the provisions under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act are fully ensured for the Kadar community in the region.
After visiting the proposed power project area on Saturday, the panel members said the authorities had not been successful in ensuring the habitat rights of the tribal families residing the project area.
Gadgil said a detailed study report on the Western Ghat riparian system was also the needed to know more about the impact of hydroelectric projects like the one proposed at Athirappilly. Gadgil said that the preliminary inquiry with Kadar tribes revealed that the community rights of the tribes are not yet recognised.
“Though forest rights committees were formed, they are not functioning properly. The tribal people should be first made aware of their rights,” he said.
Playing down the apprehensions that the panel visited the spot with preset mind that project would harm the ecology of the area, Gadgil said: “The panel is not against the project, but, at the same time, our priority is ecology.”
Stiff opposition from locals
The panel interacted with the tribesmen, people’s representatives, public, members of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) and Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).
There was a mixed reaction during the interaction with the people’s representatives.
While Chalakkudy MLA B D Devassy supported the project citing its need in the ever-increasing power demand in the state, people like Athirappilly grama panchayat president Baby K Thomas, Chalakkudy block panchayat vice-president Leena Davis, Chalakkudy grama panchayat vice-president Devi Sathyan and many others opposed the project citing various ecological, social and economic reasons.
Sandhya Unnikrishnan, a tribeswoman and former Chalakkudy grama panchayat president and at present a panchayat member, demanded that the project be implemented without affecting the livelihood of the tribesmen in the area.
At the same time, in the interaction with public, all the 27 persons who spoke to the panel vehemently opposed the project. The KFRI officials opposed the project highlighting the adverse impacts on biodiversity, while the KSEB team tried to convince the panel that the project could be implemented without much impact on the ecology of the area.
In the technical session, Gadgil directed both the supporting and opposing parties to submit their views and question on the project in written format.
The members in the panel include scientist from Kerala V S Vijayan, Renee M Borges, associate professor at Centre for Ecological Sciences, Bengaluru, Vidya S Nayak from the Nagarika Seva Trust at Gurvayankere in Karnataka and R V Varma from Kerala State Biodiversity Board among others.
