Hydro projects face threats: Uttarakhand NGO

Dehradun, June 20 (IBNS): The environment friendly Hydro-power projects are facing tremendous threats in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in India where several of them have been closed down in the past couple of years, disrupting the power supply in the states, alleged local NGO Rural Litigation & Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) here.

The State Government owned hydro power projects – Palamaneri (480 Mw) and Baironghati (381 Mw) and the Centre owned Lohari Nagpala (600 Mw) were stopped by the previous Government and the Centre bowing to 'political and religious pressures', RLEK alleged in a recent press conference in New Delhi.

“On 26.02.2009 a Division Bench of the High Court of Uttarakhand passed an order directing Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) to implead G.D Agarwal at whose instance the work was said to have been suspended. Further, the court passed an ad-interim order directing that the impugned order dated 19th February, 2009 by which work on the Loharinag-Pala was stopped will not be acted upon until further orders from this Court,” said RLEK chairperson and activist Avdhash Kaushal.

“Keeping this as the backdrop RLEK suggested to the High Court of Uttarakhand to refer the matter relating to the State/Centre owned hydro power projects i.e. Palamaneri, Bhaironghati and Lohari Nagpala to the Ganga River Basin Authority,” he said.

“Again in 2012 the State and Central Governments succumbed to pressure tactics of individuals laced with vested interests and even abandoned other hydro power projects in Uttarakhand purely on religious and political grounds,” the statement said.

There are about six hydro power projects namely Vishnugad, Peepal-koti, Himjyoti, Alaknanada etc. which were projected to supply electricity by 2012, it said.

Thousands of workers have become unemployed and more than ten thousand small and large scale industries in Uttarakhand are on the verge of closure because of lack of power supply, the activists claimed.

“Citizens in general are also suffering because of the shortage of water and electricity,” it said.

 The activists are demanding to restart the stalled hydro-power projects on which crores of money of the poor people have been spent and 50 percent work has already been undertaken.

They have also urged that the Central government should give financial compensation to the people of Uttarakhand till the power projects start generating electricity.