GUWAHATI, Jan 7 � The eight-member expert group of the State which studied the impacts of the Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project (LSHEP) has no information as to whether the proposed meeting of the select group of experts scheduled for today on the power project was held or not.
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) constituted a sub-committee to study the geo-technical aspects of the LSHEP on which the Assam expert group has expressed serious reservations in its report. The sub-committee comprised VC Thakur of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Prof SK Deb of IIT, Guwahati, Prof ML Sarma of IIT Roorkee, Dr Manish Shrikhande of IIT Roorkee, Prof Chandan Mahanta of IIT, Guwahati, Dr BP Duarah of Gauhati University, Prof J N Sarma of Dibrugarh University and NHPC�s AK Jain, NK Mathur, PK Gupta and SL Katil.
The sub-committee was formed at the EAC meeting held on December 11 last. It was decided that the sub-committee would meet at New Delhi on January 7, 2011. But the Assam expert group in a letter mailed to EAC chairman Rakesh Nath on December 11, pleaded for holding the meeting at Gerukamukh and presence of all its members in the proposed meeting.
The argument of the Assam expert group in this respect was that the ground condition at the LSHEP site could be verified if the meeting was held at the Gerukamukh project site.
But, later on, no communication was made with the expert group either by the EAC or the NHPC, Prof Kalita said.
Dr BP Duarah, who was named as one of the members of the sub-committee, also told this correspondent that he too was not aware as to whether the meeting of the sub-committee was held or not.
