GUWAHATI, Jan 31 � Several civil society groups of the State have urged the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment & Forests, Jairam Ramesh, to seriously address the issue of downstream impact of dams in the State.
They were reacting to Ramesh�s observations on the 1,500 MW Tipaimukh multipurpose project made on January 18 while speaking at the 10th Editors� Conference on Social Sector Issues (ECSSI). The Environment Minister had dismissed the downstream apprehensions about the Tipaimukh project as �false propaganda� and had also said that the people of Barak Valley of Assam were determined to have the project.
But it is also a fact that citizens in Assam are worried as the downstream impact of the project on southern Assam was completely ignored in its environment impact appraisal done by the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF).
The MoEF granted environmental clearance to the Tipaimukh project on October 24, 2008 without a comprehensive downstream impact study and public consultation in southern Assam.
While public hearings were held in upstream Manipur and Mizoram, the MoEF did not ask for public hearings in southern Assam despite it being in the impact zone of the project. Even though public hearings were not held in southern Assam, the Union Environment Minister has come to a conclusion that people of Barak valley were �determined� to have the project.
While there are indeed some supporters of the project in the Barak Valley, there are also others concerned about its negative impact. The MoEF would have got a correct picture about this if it had bothered to hold public consultations in southern Assam.
In fact several civil society groups in the Barak Valley have been repeatedly expressing their concern about and opposition to the Tipaimukh dam in recent months. A public meeting in the downstream affected area of Lakhipur was held in July 2009, while a sit-in demonstration before the Deputy Commissioner�s office at Silchar in August, 2009 saw the presence of a wide array of local citizens � farmers, journalists, writers, cultural and social activists.
They submitted a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister of India on August 29, 2009, demanding immediate scrapping of the Tipaimukh project. In a seminar organised on the downstream impact of the Tipaimukh dam on December 29, 2009 at Silchar, civil society organisations such as Society of Activists and Volunteers for Environment (SAVE), Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, United Development Organisation (UDO), Dalchut and others voiced a clear no to Tipaimukh dam.
But despite these concerns, the Union Government continues to be insensitive to the issue. The MoEF-appointed Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley & Hydroelectric projects has recently recommended the 1,750 MW Demwe lower project on the Lohit river in Arunachal Pradesh for environmental clearance without public consultation and downstream impact study in the Lohit river basin in downstream Assam, alleged the above organisations in a joint press release.
GUWAHATI, Jan 31 � Several civil society groups of the State have urged the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment & Forests, Jairam Ramesh, to seriously address the issue of downstream impact of dams in the State.
They were reacting to Ramesh�s observations on the 1,500 MW Tipaimukh multipurpose project made on January 18 while speaking at the 10th Editors� Conference on Social Sector Issues (ECSSI). The Environment Minister had dismissed the downstream apprehensions about the Tipaimukh project as �false propaganda� and had also said that the people of Barak Valley of Assam were determined to have the project.
But it is also a fact that citizens in Assam are worried as the downstream impact of the project on southern Assam was completely ignored in its environment impact appraisal done by the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF).
The MoEF granted environmental clearance to the Tipaimukh project on October 24, 2008 without a comprehensive downstream impact study and public consultation in southern Assam.
While public hearings were held in upstream Manipur and Mizoram, the MoEF did not ask for public hearings in southern Assam despite it being in the impact zone of the project. Even though public hearings were not held in southern Assam, the Union Environment Minister has come to a conclusion that people of Barak valley were �determined� to have the project.
While there are indeed some supporters of the project in the Barak Valley, there are also others concerned about its negative impact. The MoEF would have got a correct picture about this if it had bothered to hold public consultations in southern Assam.
In fact several civil society groups in the Barak Valley have been repeatedly expressing their concern about and opposition to the Tipaimukh dam in recent months. A public meeting in the downstream affected area of Lakhipur was held in July 2009, while a sit-in demonstration before the Deputy Commissioner�s office at Silchar in August, 2009 saw the presence of a wide array of local citizens � farmers, journalists, writers, cultural and social activists.
They submitted a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister of India on August 29, 2009, demanding immediate scrapping of the Tipaimukh project. In a seminar organised on the downstream impact of the Tipaimukh dam on December 29, 2009 at Silchar, civil society organisations such as Society of Activists and Volunteers for Environment (SAVE), Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti, United Development Organisation (UDO), Dalchut and others voiced a clear no to Tipaimukh dam.
But despite these concerns, the Union Government continues to be insensitive to the issue. The MoEF-appointed Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley & Hydroelectric projects has recently recommended the 1,750 MW Demwe lower project on the Lohit river in Arunachal Pradesh for environmental clearance without public consultation and downstream impact study in the Lohit river basin in downstream Assam, alleged the above organisations in a joint press release.
