GUWAHATI, Nov 5 � One more controversy seems to be in the offing on the mega dam issue with the exposure of the link between the Swiss consultancy firm AF Colenco Ltd and the power trading firm Alpiq Holding Ltd.
AF Colenco Ltd was recommended to the NHPC by State Power Minister Pradyut Bordoloi recently, to be a third party consultant, along with the Moscow-based Hydro Project Institute, for the purpose of studying the impacts of the Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project (LSHEP).
However, Bordoloi told this newspaper today that he did not know the AF Colenco and Hydro Project Institute personally. But he had come to know that they had �done extensive work in the Himalayan region. They are internationally reputed for their expertise in the area of structural designs of the dams�.
Anyway, he said, only a suggestion was made to the NHPC and this was in no way mandatory. �We are for third party inspection by the reputed firms known for their expertise in the Himalayan geological condition. I don�t think that AF Colenco, being a professional firm, would compromise (its principles as a consultancy firm). We have cited only two examples. They (NHPC) are free to engage the best firm in the professional field,� Bordoloi said.
The AF Colenco is linked with the technical consultancy group-The AF Group, electricity generating company� Alpiq Holding Ltd, engineering and surveying firm� Straub AG and the geostatistical software development firm � Geovariances SA.
The subsidiaries of the AF Colenco Ltd are � �F-Consult Oy, �F- Engineering OY (Finland), �F-Engineering s.r.o (Czech Republic), �F-Automaatika O� (Estonia) and AF-Colenco AG (Switzerland).
According to the website Company Snapshot, the Alpiq Holding AG (Alpiq Holding Aktiengesellschaft), formerly Atel Holding AG, is a Switzerland-based company engaged in the provision of energy services related to energy production throughout Europe. "The Company generates and sells electricity, and also provides energy services.
�Alpiq Holding AG is divided into the energy and energy services segments. Energy combines power generation and transmission operations with electricity trading and sales, and is subdivided into the Energy Switzerland, Energy Western Europe and Energy Central Europe divisions as well as the Trading & Services division.
�It generates electricity from hydropower, fossil fuels, nuclear energy and various forms of renewable energies,� said the website.
The link between the AF Colenco Ltd and the Alpiq Holding AG has cast doubt over the impartial character of the consultancy firm as a third party consultant. Dr Peter Bosshard, Policy Director of the International Rivers, has raised apprehension saying that it would not be correct to engage the consultancy firm in the LSHEP.
. In an e-mailed communication to this correspondent, Dr Bosshard said, �I should first say that engineering companies generally tend to have a vested interest to support the projects they are asked to assess. If they recommend that a project go forward, they will often get follow-up contracts such as carrying out feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments, etc. If they take a critical stance on a project, they will not get follow-up contracts��
It needs mention here that International Rivers has been working for the past 25 years to protect rivers and defend the rights of communities that depend on them.
