World Bank funding for a 444MW hydropower project in Uttarakhand being built by state-owned Tehri Hydro Development Corp. Ltd (THDC) has got stuck because the project hasn’t got forest clearance from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).
The multilateral funding agency had set this approval as a condition for the $600 million (Rs.2,712 crore) loan. Of the 106ha required for the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti project, 80ha is forest land and the rest is private land. While 6ha of private land has been acquired, the acquisition of 20ha is in progress.
“The loan is linked to MoEF’s decision on the forest land. The bank has stated this to us. The paper is in limbo in MoEF. We got the environment clearance for the project before cabinet approval. The forest clearance is held up because of fresh issues being raised about environmental clearance,” said R.S.T. Sai, chairman and managing director, THDC.
The project, earlier scheduled to have been commissioned by 2013, is located on the Alaknanda, a Ganga tributary, and is expected to have four units of 111MW each involving a total investment of Rs.3,100 crore.
Mint had reported on 16 July on the allegations over the manner in which the project had received environmental clearance, after which the World Bank asked the Indian government to address the issue. The bank’s action came after it was sent a letter detailing these allegations by Vimalbhai, convener of the Matu People’s Organization, a Delhi-based activist group.
“The earlier clearance was based on a project-specific study. Now they want a basin study. At a group of ministers (GoM) meeting, it was decided that in the absence of a basin study, the application processing will not be held up. However, that is not the case now. The worst-case scenario is that the project doesn’t come up. There can’t be a Plan B as this is a location-specific project,” Sai said.
While environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who is away in the Mexican city of Cancun for climate change talks, was not available for comment, a World Bank spokesperson in an email response said: “Forest clearance is a requirement of the government of India. For all bank-supported projects...the bank proceeds to support a project only after it has satisfied itself that all national and bank policy requirements have been met; adequate consultation and preparation has been done; and effective measures have been put into place to manage any possible project risks or adverse impacts.”
This comes at a time when there is already considerable scrutiny of hydro projects in the country due to environmental concerns. In 1994, the bank was forced to withdraw from its plan to fund the Sardar Sarovar project across the Narmada in the face of social and environmental concerns. Hydropower accounts for 37,328MW of India’s 167,278.36MW power generating capacity. India plans to add 16,501.17MW of hydropower capacity by 2012.
“The bank’s view is that this is a well-prepared project that has been designed with sensitivity to the social and environmental aspects of the project,” the spokesperson said. “If the project start is delayed because clearance is delayed, then the loan disbursal would be impacted accordingly.”
The spokesperson said the bank had no information about local protests.
“A bank team that visited the project site in August and interacted with representatives of several villages, elected representatives of communities and the district administration found consistent support for the project, ” she said.
Vimalbhai disagreed with this.
“The situation is so bad that the people are not aware about documents such as EIA (environment impact assessment) and EMP (environmental management plan). They had called selected people and there was pressure by THDC and the bank. The bank should look into THDC’s earlier projects and they are liable for any offence done by THDC.”
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The multilateral funding agency had set this approval as a condition for the $600 million (Rs.2,712 crore) loan. Of the 106ha required for the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti project, 80ha is forest land and the rest is private land. While 6ha of private land has been acquired, the acquisition of 20ha is in progress.
“The loan is linked to MoEF’s decision on the forest land. The bank has stated this to us. The paper is in limbo in MoEF. We got the environment clearance for the project before cabinet approval. The forest clearance is held up because of fresh issues being raised about environmental clearance,” said R.S.T. Sai, chairman and managing director, THDC.
The project, earlier scheduled to have been commissioned by 2013, is located on the Alaknanda, a Ganga tributary, and is expected to have four units of 111MW each involving a total investment of Rs.3,100 crore.
Mint had reported on 16 July on the allegations over the manner in which the project had received environmental clearance, after which the World Bank asked the Indian government to address the issue. The bank’s action came after it was sent a letter detailing these allegations by Vimalbhai, convener of the Matu People’s Organization, a Delhi-based activist group.
“The earlier clearance was based on a project-specific study. Now they want a basin study. At a group of ministers (GoM) meeting, it was decided that in the absence of a basin study, the application processing will not be held up. However, that is not the case now. The worst-case scenario is that the project doesn’t come up. There can’t be a Plan B as this is a location-specific project,” Sai said.
While environment minister Jairam Ramesh, who is away in the Mexican city of Cancun for climate change talks, was not available for comment, a World Bank spokesperson in an email response said: “Forest clearance is a requirement of the government of India. For all bank-supported projects...the bank proceeds to support a project only after it has satisfied itself that all national and bank policy requirements have been met; adequate consultation and preparation has been done; and effective measures have been put into place to manage any possible project risks or adverse impacts.”
This comes at a time when there is already considerable scrutiny of hydro projects in the country due to environmental concerns. In 1994, the bank was forced to withdraw from its plan to fund the Sardar Sarovar project across the Narmada in the face of social and environmental concerns. Hydropower accounts for 37,328MW of India’s 167,278.36MW power generating capacity. India plans to add 16,501.17MW of hydropower capacity by 2012.
“The bank’s view is that this is a well-prepared project that has been designed with sensitivity to the social and environmental aspects of the project,” the spokesperson said. “If the project start is delayed because clearance is delayed, then the loan disbursal would be impacted accordingly.”
The spokesperson said the bank had no information about local protests.
“A bank team that visited the project site in August and interacted with representatives of several villages, elected representatives of communities and the district administration found consistent support for the project, ” she said.
Vimalbhai disagreed with this.
“The situation is so bad that the people are not aware about documents such as EIA (environment impact assessment) and EMP (environmental management plan). They had called selected people and there was pressure by THDC and the bank. The bank should look into THDC’s earlier projects and they are liable for any offence done by THDC.”
livemint.com
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