Lohit river basin study (major tributary of Brahmaputra)
Neeraj Vagholikar
The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River Valley and hydroelectric projects of the MoEF discusses this report on March 17th. Those wishing to send comments can do so either before the 17th or even after that.
Comments can be sent to the EAC members:
rakeshn...@gmail.com, bishn...@hotmail.com,ashim...@yahoo.co.in, skm6...@gmail.com,maitreyee_ c...@hotmail.com, aru...@gmail.com,, mohan_d1...@rediffmail.com, ceh...@nic.in,chandrashe...@yahoo.com , utpal_...@yahoo.com, glba...@yahoo.co.in, pvs...@gmail.com, sanc...@nic.in, sanso...@yahoo.co.in
(Chairman: Rakesh Nath (first email id), Vice-Chairperson: Bishnu P Das (second email id), Member Secretary: Dr. Sanchita Jindal (last two email ids)
Two newsreports on this study dated September 13th (Arunachal Times and Telegraph) are pasted below this email for your reference.
regards,
Neeraj
www.arunachaltimes.com
Half hearted effort by MoEF (The Arunachal Times, September 13, 2011)
Cumulative impact assessment of hydropower projects in Lohit basin
ITANAGAR, Sep 12: The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) had asked Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS) to conduct a cumulative impact assessment of various hydropower projects in the Lohit river basin. The report has been uploaded on the MoEF website (envfor.nic.in) on September 7. The agenda for the September 17th meeting of the Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley and Hydroelectric projects to be held in New Delhi includes a discussion on final Report of the Study on Cumulative Impact Assessment of Lohit Basin by WAPCOS.
The MoEF and its Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) on River valley and Hydroelectric projects has asked to only look at the impacts of seven projects on the main Lohit river and not the entire 13 projects in the Lohit river basin. Cumulative impacts on forests, livelihoods and the downstream will be due to all the projects in Lohit river basin, not just the projects on main stem of Lohit river.
Projects on main Lohit river are: 1450 MW Kalai – I, 1200 MW Kalai – II, 588 MW Hutong – I, 1250 MW Hutong – II, 280 MW Anjaw, 1050 MW Demwe Upper, 1750 MW Demwe Lower.
Projects on tributaries of Lohit are: 98 MW Tiding – I, 68 MW Tiding – II, 96 MW Raigam, 21 MW Kamlang, 99 MW Gimliang, 75 MW Noa Dihing.
Out of 13 projects in Lohit river basin, MoAs have been signed for 11 (except 588 MW Hutong – I and 75 MW Noa Dihing).
Despite the EAC specifically raising concerns about the downstream impacts beyond 1750 MW Demwe Lower study, the issue has been dealt with poorly in Lohit river basin study. Only impacts till 5 km. downstream of the 1750 MW Demwe Lower project have been considered. It is important to remember that around 70 kms. of the river downstream of 1750 MW Demwe Lower flows within Arunachal Pradesh, but no cumulative impacts on this section has been considered. In the August 2009 EAC meeting which reviewed the interim report it was observed:
“In respect of Lohit basin impact on downstream National Park (Dibru Saikhowa National Park may be studied.”
But WAPCOS, a consultant under the Ministry of Water Resources, has failed to study beyond 5 km. downstream of the Damwe Lower dam as part of Lohit river basin study. This ignores impacts on areas such as Namsai, Chongkham, Alubari, Sunpura etc. in Lohit district.
In the April 2010, the EAC further asked for a study of the serious impacts due flow fluctuations on beels,wetlands of downstream in the Upper Brahmaputra valley. But these have not been studied too.
As per the current plans only 42.4 kms. of the river will run free in a stretch of 144.2 kms. from the China border to Brahmakund (Parsuram Kund). As per the recommendations of WAPCOS one project (588 MW Hutong – I) should be dropped to allow 50 km. of the river to run free. But this still means that 65% of the river will still be destroyed. Besides, out of the 50 kms. Being proposed to be allowed to flow free, 32 kms. is from China border to the first project (Kalai – I). Therefore, in the remaining section of 112.2 kms. from the Kalai – I project to the Demwe Lower project only 18 kms. will be allowed to flow free even if Hutong I is dropped as proposed. This is only 16% of the river between Kalai I and Demwe Lower projects.
Besides the criteria to recommend that 588 mw Hutong – I is dropped and the other six are allowed is not scientific or on environmental on socio-economic grounds. The criteria is that MoA has not been signed for Hutong – I (therefore it can be recommended for rejection) and MoA has been signed for the other six projects (therefore they cannot be recommended for rejection)!
This once again reiterates that signing of MoAs with advanced premiums has compromised
the social and environmental impact assessment process (both for individual projects
as well as such cumulative studies). The WAPCOS study has given a green signal to
six out of seven dams on the main Lohit river (the ones for which MoA has been signed).
No public consultation seems to have been held as part of the Lohit river basin study
as people in the Lohit and Anjaw districts totally in the dark about this process
and its recommendations.
Guwahati, Sept. 12: Construction of the six proposed
hydroelectric projects on Lohit in Arunachal Pradesh could adversely
affect the river’s ecology, impacting aquatic life and animals, a draft
report has concluded. Six
projects with installed capacity of 7,450MW — Demwe Lower, Demwe Upper,
Hutong-II, Hutong-I, Kalai-II and Kalai-I — will restrict the 144.2-km
river to 42.4km, which is 30 per cent of the river’s stretch. The
Lohit basin is the eastern most river basin of India, forming part of
the Brahamputra basin, with its catchment spreading across the
international border, covering part of Tibet. It
is bounded by China and part of Dibang valley district of Arunachal
Pradesh in the north, Changlang district in the south, the hills of
Myanmar in the east and Assam in the west. “Construction
of the proposed dams would hamper the upward and downward migratory
movement of various fish species in summer and winter. It is likely that
the migration of fish species, Schizothorax richardsonii and Acrossocheilus hexagonolepis,
in the 144.2km stretch would be affected on account of construction of
the proposed hydroelectric projects. Likewise, migration of fish species
from tributaries to river Lohit would be affected on account of
creation of reservoirs because of construction of proposed hydroelectric
projects. Thus, the projects will lead to adverse impact on migratory
fish species,” says the report which has been compiled by WAPCOS
Limited, a government of India undertaking under the instruction of the
ministry of environment and forests. Congregation of workers could disturb wildlife during construction of the project, the report said. Besides,
the sites chosen for the projects should free from dense vegetation,
away from wildlife habitats, including breeding sites, and riverbanks. “In
view of this it is recommended that adequate number of check posts be
developed in the major construction area and in the vicinity of labour
camps to prevent poaching in the area. Each check-post shall have four
guards, who will be supervised by a range officer,” the report said. The
expert appraisal committee for river valley and hydroelectric projects
under the ministry of environment and forests, on the other hand, has
called for a study of the downstream impact of Lohit on Dibru Saikhowa
National Park in Assam, which the current report has not included. It
also pointed out that the tributaries of Lohit river have not been
studied. The
committee said the ecology, flora/fauna presented in the report is not
adequate and lower group of plants have not been reported at all. While
scientists prepared a checklist of 213 species of fishes in Arunachal
Pradesh, the report has mentioned only eight fishes in Lohit river.
ROOPAK GOSWAMI
--
Neeraj Vagholikar
Kalpavriksh
Apartment No. 5, Shree Dutta Krupa,
908 Deccan Gymkhana,
Pune - 411004
India
Ph: 91-20-25654239/25675450
email: nva...@gmail.com
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