NEW DELHI, Aug 2 � The Ministry of Environment and Forest has called for the expert panel report on mega dams that has stirred a raging controversy in the State.
A number of representations have been received from various stakeholders regarding construction of big dams in Assam, said Minister of State for Environment and Forest, Jairam Ramesh, in a Rajya Sabha reply to a question by Biren Baishya.
The representations have highlighted the issues about downstream impact of dams and apprehension over the alteration of riverine flow regime, which may seriously impact both the terrestrial and aquatic ecology.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Power Bharatsinh Solanki said that in the North-east, a majority of the hydro-electric projects allotted for implementation are run-of-river (RoR) type hydro-electric projects with limited storage, which may not have any significant impact on the pattern of flows in the downstream.
In a written reply to a question by Kumar Deepak Das, the Minister said wherever mega dams are being permitted for construction in the north-eastern region, extensive studies and investigations are carried out before finalising features of the project and suitable actions are taken to protect the people in the downstream from any disaster.
Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) studies for the hydro-electric projects are carried out by the project proponents, according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, which involves preparation of disaster management plan to identify inundation area, population and structures likely to be affected due to flood in the event of dam failure. Emergency action and management plan include measures like preventive action notification, warning procedure and action plan for coordination with various authorities, the Minister claimed.
After allocation of the hydro projects, extensive survey and investigation activities are carried out by the project proponents based on which DPRs are prepared. DPRs of hydro projects costing over Rs 500 crore are submitted to Central Electricity Authority (CEA) for concurrence. CEA, before according clearance, examines various technical aspects including dam safety and design of various structures in consultation with CWC and Geological Survey of India (GSI), Solanki claimed.
The site-specific studies are also carried out and put up to the National Committee on Seismic Design Parameters for their recommendations on seismic parameters for detailed design of different components of the project, he added.
