PRESS RELEASE: 30th January 2012
‘LEAVE THE CHENAB ALONE’ LAHAUL RESIDENTS AND ACTIVISTS APPEAL;
WRITE TO MOEF OBJECTING TO STATE GOVERNMENT’s STATEMENT OF EXEMPTING THE BASIN FROM CUMULATIVE IMPACT STUDIES
The Jispa-Darcha Bachao Sangarsh Samiti along with several other representatives of grasroots organisations from Lahaul have written a strongly worded letter to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests appealing that no hydropower projects should be allowed on the Chenab river basin. The letter has raised severe objection and disappointment at the recent news that the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh asked the Union Ministry to ‘exempt’ the Chenab river basin from the process of mandatory Cumulative Impact Assessement Studies for hydro projects proposed to be set up on the Chenab river and its tributaries.
“This indeed is a reflection of the callous attitude of the state government, always at the forefront to claim ‘green awards, announce ‘climate change mitigation’ policies and organise conferences on environment issues but completely un-accountable to the serious ecological and social impacts caused by the uncontrolled and unplanned hydropower development in Himachal today”, the letter stated. The letter highlights the fact that there is not a single stream or river in the state of Himachal Pradesh that hasn’t been/is not planned to be dammed or tunneled. “The Chenab river, one of the five major river basins in Himachal is largely an exception and remains the least exploited basin for Hydro Electricity generation. The state government, however, is hell bent on killing the only living river of Himachal Pradesh by planning almost 20 projects of more than 3000 MW capacity on it” it states.
The Chenab basin falls largely in the High Altitude region (above 2500m) of the state in the Lahaul-Spiti District . The area is characterised by difficult terrain, fragile and loose mountains prone to avalanches and landslides and falls in seismic zone-IV. “In such an area, construction of reservoirs and tunnels will have serious implications on local geology, seismic sensitivity and climatic conditions. Any rise in the temperature and rainfall can bring havoc in the form of avalanches and landslides and can cause disasters similar to the kind that happened in Leh in August 2010” said Ravi Thakur, President of the Samiti and signatory to the letter.
Lahaul and Spiti district has the highest irrigation intensity for the area under cultivation in the State. The village settlements here are supported by the community owned and run kuhls and the area is known for cultivation of high quality Potatoes, Hops, Kuth and Peas and is now moving towards Apple orchards, floriculture (Lilium) and off season vegetable cultivation (cabbage, carrot etc.). The fertile agriculture fields along the river will face submergence and the sources of irrigation for the fields in higher altitudes will dry up due to the under ground construction of tunnels in turn affecting agriculture. “Experience from other hydroelectricity projects in the state, especially in Kinnaur, reveals that the local natural water sources get disturbed and often dry up as a result of the tunnelling activity”, added R.S. Negi of Him Lok Jagriti Manch who has endorsed the letter.
The first of the three projects, Miyar, Seli and Jispa Dams in the Lahaul region are already in different stages of clearances with Miyar already recommended for Environment Clearance despite serious objections raised by local communities during the Environment Clearance public hearing. “There has not been any independent carrying capacity study or assessment of the environmental impacts of the cascade of projects that are coming up in the state and we continue to demand that until and unless this process is carried out, there should be no further commissioning and clearance to projects” said Prakash Bhandari of Himdhara, an environment research and action collective, also a signatory to the letter. He added, “We have also sent our report titled ‘Beginning of the End‘ which examines in detail the impact of the 300 MW Jispa Dam project proposed on the Chenab River basin to the MoEF”.
