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Jairam no to blanket ban on hydel projects in U’khand
Jotirmay Thapliyal
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 22
Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh has categorically said a blanket ban on the construction of hydroelectric projects in Uttarakhand is not feasible keeping in view the growing energy needs of the country.

Chairing a public consultation meeting on the National Mission for a Green India in Dehradun today, Jairam Ramesh said while he was for striking a balance between conservation fundamentalist and development fundamentalist, a blanket ban on the construction of hydro projects in Uttarakhand couldn’t be done.

“We can’t stop all projects at one go. Almost every day I get a delegation from Uttarakhand seeking a ban on the construction of hydro power projects in Uttarakhand. This has even made me an unpopular person as I listen to these people,” Jairam pointed out, adding that one needed to understand the energy requirements of a country that added to it a staggering 1.5 crore people every year. Though work at the Pala Maneri and Bhairoghati projects has been suspended, the issue of Loharinagpala project needs introspection as 40 per cent work on the project has been completed and Rs 800 crore has already been spent for the purpose. “It will be a tough decision to take on the Loharinagpala project”. “We need to strike a balance between conservation and development and must find some midway out to deal with the challenge,” the minister pointed out.

Jairam was forced to raise the issue when several participants at the public consultation expressed concern over an adverse impact of upcoming hydro-power projects in Uttarakhand hills even as he took suggestions from representatives of non-governmental organisations, civil society, forest officials and other people during the consultations.

Referring to forest fires, Jairam announced that a separate satellite would be pressed into service from 2013 which would exclusively deal with the forest fires and forest mapping issues. “The multi-level satellite will help in exact identification of level of degradation apart from revealing the level of greenery in a particular area,” the Union Minister observed.

The Forest Survey of India that prepares biennial report on forestry cover in the country does it with satellite imageries and that the new satellite will further strengthen the entire process, he added.

Over the issue of tribal rights, the minister said as many as seven lakh pattas had been given as individual forest rights, while 20,000 community pattas had been given under the Forest Rights Act.

The minister pointed out that the final draft of the Green India Mission would be ready by June-end and submitted to the Prime Minister Advisory Council on Climate Change. Today’s public consultation was the second in the series of public consultations being organised by the Centre for Environment Education on behalf of the Union Minister of Environment and Forests in the country.

Later, the Union Minister attended the convocation ceremony of State Forest Service College. He called upon the passing-out forest officers to excel in their duty even while meeting out the challenges in forestry in a determined manner.