Independent Committee on Big Hydro Projects wants State Govt to suspend Panang project for five years - “Sikkim should go for small and micro hydro HEPs instead”

GANGTOK, May 20: The six-member Independent Committee on Big Hydro Projects, who are just back after a trip from Dzongu today said that the 280 MW Panang Hydro Electric Project (HEP) will completely and permanently destroy the serene environment of Dzongu. In a press conference held this evening at the BL House here, the members said that the project will “not only destroy the place with deep and unique religious sentiments attached but will also destroy the unique Lepcha community’s abode.”

Speaking with the media, the members said that the Sikkim government, partly under pressure from the central government, has hastily committed itself to develop about 42 big hydropower projects, without much consultation with the Sikkimese people or without considering the implications of the projects for the local people, environment, culture, future generations and even return on investment for the state or the people. The team comprising of Souparno Lahiri (National Forum of Forest People and Forest workers, Delhi), Ravindra Nath (Rural Volunteers Centre, Akajan, Assam), Partho J Das (North Eastern Centre for Environmental Research and Development, Guwahati), Vimal Bhai (Matu Jan Sangathan, Delhi), Arnab (NESPON, Siliguri, West Bengal) and Himanshu Thakkar (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, Delhi) said that the State Government instead of assessing and realising the potential of power generation in Dzongu and other regions of Sikkim has entered into an MOU with an unknown entity like the Himagiri company for 280 MW Panang HEP.

“The government should rather suspend or declare moratorium on this project for five years and in the meantime take up the small and micro hydro HEPs in this region and also see the how the Teesta V project performs,” they said.  Informing that the Panang Project still has not been given concurrence by the Central Electricity Authority under the Section 8 of electricity Act, the team stressed that the work, which has now commenced on this project is illegal.

“The State Government has also failed to consider the implications of the projects for the local people, environment, culture, future generations and even return on investment for the state people, the environmental team said. They went on to say that the State Government has also not seriously assessed the options available for electricity generation or options for development in general, which according to them was evident in the way the Teesta V has been developed and the way the Panang MOU has been signed or Teesta III implementation has started.

During their two-day visit to the State, the team visited a completed Public Sector Hydro Project like the 510 MW Teesta V HEP, the under construction private sector HEP like the 1200 MW Teesta III HEP and the Dzongu area, including the site of the proposed 280 MW Panang HEP. The team also interacted with the affected people, elected representatives, project officials and contractors of the Teesta III HEP, NGOs, Public Relations officer of Himagiri, visited the Central Water Commission officer in Dzongu as well as went through the official documents, data and clearance letters.

While stating that company like Teesta Urja Limited who has no track record on projects is developing Teesta III project, the environmentalists opined that the State government should ensure that the company enters into MOU with the affected communities to ensure that all possible impacts are avoided or minimized and properly compensated when unavoidable.  “The Environment management plan is implemented as required and local people benefit rather than suffer adverse impacts, as happens in all hydro projects,” they informed. As a policy for all HEPs, before any project is taken any further, complete videography of the houses, water sources, existing landslides and other structures should be immediately be done create a baseline data. The EIA-EMP should also be translated in full in local language and made available,” the members said.

Having discovered that scores of houses have discovered cracks as a result of Teesta Stage V and water sources of the community has dried up, the six-member team has suggested the State Government to ask the NHPC to institute credible independent review of the outstanding social and environmental issues in a time bound manner.  The team also feels that the State Government should penalize NHPC for not taking care of problems like accumulation of huge amount of silt behind the dam and the stoppage of power generation for the last five days. The have further demanded credible investigation into massive corruption in payments of compensations, unearthed by the affected people through RTI. “In some cases, the affected people have been paid Rs 5001- when records show they have been paid Rs 35,0001,” they said.

While expressing happiness over the announcement of the Chief Minister in scrapping Teesta IV project, earlier awarded to NHPC and four of the five other HEPs proposed in the Dzongu area, the environment activists hoped that the “CM will show statesmanship by suspending the Panang HEP for at least five years immediately to protect the sanctity of the Dzongu area.”  They have further suggested that the Sikkim government should take a pause for other proposed big HEPs and initiate a credible independent commission with participation of ACT and other concerned groups and persons. “It is also important to study the credibility of EIA, the siltation rates on Teesta basin, the downstream impacts, the cumulative impacts, the incidents of flash floods, requirement of minimum and flood flows in the rivers and so on in the meantime to ensure that whatever projects taken up are indeed in larger interest of the people, environment and future of the state,” thy said adding “if the projects now proposed are taken up, the very rivers of Sikkim will be completely destroyed.”

Meanwhile, the team also expressed concern over the deteriorating health conditions of the three activists of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT), who have been continuing with their indefinite hunger strike for the last 73 days. [Sikkim Express]