NGT Orders an Expert Opinion on Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric Project in Uttarakhand
Given the ecologically fragile conditions of the lower Himalayan region in India, it cannot be clearer that anthropogenic activities there will only reap destruction
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) to submit an expert opinion on Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric project in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand during a plea hearing.
The order was given during the hearing of a plea by Dr. Bharat Jhunjhunawala and several others against environmental clearance for the project. The 444 MW project is proposed to be established in an area of 141.568 hectare at Haat village in Chamoli.
NGT orders environment ministry to submit an expert opinion on Vishnugad-Pipalkoti Hydroelectric project in Chamoli district | Image: V.V. Krishnan
A bench led by NGT chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the MoEF and asked them to file their report within a month.
The bench said;
We also directed the MoEF to obtain and file an expert opinion from the Expert Appraisal Committee for river valley and hydro-electric project within two months by e-mail.
Moreover, the plea said the cost benefit analysis of the project is in favor of abandoning it. The improper evaluation of the mitigation measures is also a cause to worry when it comes to the construction of huge anthropogenic projects in the region.
The project could effectively have devastating impacts and contribution to soil erosion, blasting, decline in water quality, loss of aesthetic value and loss of aquatic biodiversity. However, the earlier environmental analysis did not include these impacts.
Via: The Hindu
