Jairam Questions Govt on Northeast India Projects

By Ravish Tiwari

In unprecedented distancing from the government by a key minister and questioning its development works in the strategic Northeast India and Bhutan, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has taken up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demands for a review of all hydel projects in the region and a “moratorium on any further clearances for hydel projects in Arunachal Pradesh” since “these are bound to be the subject of agitation” in Assam.

In a letter to the Prime Minister on September 16 after attending a meeting in Guwahati of “civil society organizations” opposed to big dams, Ramesh has highlighted the views of “some NGOs” that “we should not make Arunachal Pradesh a pawn in the race between India and China”.

This, Ramesh states, was the response to his explanation on the “strategic significance” of projects in Arunachal Pradesh. But in his letter, he only names one NGO called Adi Students Union which made a representation to him on this issue.

His visit has upset several senior Cabinet members. A senior minister told The Indian Express: “This is suo motu activism that only serves to incite passions. How can a minister discuss strategic aspects of projects with activists in such a sensitive region?”

At least ten times in the three-page letter to the Prime Minister, Ramesh refers to “sentiments”, “dominant view”, “great concern”, “concerns of the people”, “opposition building up”.

The letter ends with the warning that the “feeling in vocal sections of Assam’s society particularly appears to be that ‘mainland India’ is exploiting the North-East hydel resources for its benefits”.

What’s worrying for the government is that Ramesh has already made some assurances that could impact the pace of progress. “What I could assure the audience, of course, is that for projects not yet started, we will carry out cumulative environmental impact assessment studies as well as comprehensive biodiversity studies.”

This flies in the face of his own commitment to fast-track projects on the Siang river in Arunachal Pradesh. It is recorded in the minutes of a recent meeting of the task force on hydro power development: “Minister of State for Environment and Forests emphasized the need for time-bound development of hydro potential in Siang river and he offered, on his part, to consider forest and environment clearance on a fast track basis for hydro electric projects in Siang river.”

Ramesh has taken up with the Prime Minister concerns over mega projects in Bhutan like the Kurichu dam and Mangdechhu hydel project. These are bound to have diplomatic ramifications as these projects are being built with Indian help, and power produced from them would be purchased by India.

There are strong strategic underpinnings to these projects as they symbolize the cooperation hastened by Bhutan’s unflinching support to not let its territory be used by N-E insurgent groups.

Confirming that he had written to the Prime Minister after his trip to the North-East, Ramesh refused to go into details when contacted by The Indian Express. He, however, said the PM is slated to take an inter-ministerial meeting on the subject on October 13.

In his letter, Ramesh has pointed to concerns over projects mostly being built on tributaries of the Brahmaputra which even China is looking to harness on its side. He is careful enough to front these as views distilled from a “public consultation” organized at the “request of a large number of civil society organizations in Assam” on September 10 where he claims “over a thousand people participated in an interaction which extended over six hours”.

At the same time, he ends up lending weight to some of these concerns while pointing out that elections in Assam are due in next six months. “Even leaving aside elections, these issues are important in themselves and merit our serious consideration. Personally, I believe that some of the concerns that were expressed cannot be dismissed lightly.”

The key concerns and “sentiments” to which Ramesh has sought to draw the PM’s attention are:

There should be a “moratorium on any further clearances for hydel projects in Arunachal Pradesh” until downstream impact assessment studies, cumulative environment impact assessment studies and biodiversity impact studies are completed.

The 135 dams of different capacities being planned in Arunachal Pradesh “are being given green signal” without carrying out these studies.

These MoUs signed “with the knowledge of the Central government” have not taken on board the concerns of the people of Assam. “The Government of Assam should be a party to these MoUs, especially where downstream impacts are significant”. Incidentally, most of these MoUs were signed during the first UPA government.

There is “great concern” on the downstream impact in certain districts of Assam from “existing hydel projects of NEEPCO like Ranganadi and Kopili”. Incidentally, these projects have been declared fully operational more than five years ago. “There is also concern on the Kurichu hydel project executed by India in Bhutan and its downstream impacts in districts like Barpeta, Baska, Nalbari and Kamrup.”

“There is opposition building up in Assam to the 2000 MW Lower Subansiri hydel project being implemented by NHPC in Arunachal Pradesh... the demand being made, on the basis of an expert committee report prepared by a team from IIT Guwahati, Guwahati University and Dibrugarh University is for the project to be scrapped”. Ramesh, however, has also clarified in his letter that he told the audience he was “in no position to make any commitment on the existing Lower Subansiri”.

Award of projects in Arunachal Pradesh to different companies in the same river basin is making the “task of environment impact assessment very difficult”. The examples given are of three different companies involved in projects on Subansiri and also on Siang.

The 1750 MW Lower Demwe hydel project on the Lohit river “should not be given forest clearance, although environmental clearance has already been given for the project” because of the downstream impact of this project on Assam.

The 1500 MW Tipaimukh hydro-electric project in Manipur “should not be proceeded till a comprehensive downstream impact assessment study has been undertaken”.

Environmental impact of hydel projects in Bhutan need to be “studied better”. The entire approach to dams in the Northeast “needs to be looked afresh” and factors such as “high seismicity and rich biodiversity have not been adequately considered by Government of India” before granting clearances.