NTPC's Tapovan Vishnugad project comes under fire

After the suspension of 600 Mw Loharinag Pala, NTPC’s 520 Mw Tapovan Vishnugad hydropower project in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is now facing the ire of local people and politicians.

An investment of Rs 800 crore is proposed in the project on the Dhauliganga river, a tributary of Alaknanda which is proposed near the hill resort of Joshimuth.

A delegation of the ruling BJP led by local MLA Kedar Singh Fonia called on Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and raised concern over the alleged excessive discharge of water from the underground tunnel of the project.

The delegation also submitted a memorandum alleging that the excessive discharge of water in the underground tunnel would create an environmental hazard in Joshimuth town. The project is located nearly 1.5 km away from Joshimuth.

After hearing the plea of the delegation, the CM ordered an inquiry and asked secretary power Utpal Kumar to submit a report in this regard. There had been a series of protests against the project at Joshimuth during the past two months.

Early this year, the Chamoli district administration had also ordered an inquiry by technical experts of the state-run Jal Sansthan and PWD, the report for which is still awaited.

The work of the proposed 12-km long tunnel has been suspended in February following the discharge. Till now, the NTPC has completed nearly 3.5 km of the tunnel.

When contacted, NTPC officials, however said that the water discharge was gradually falling and there was no cause for worry. The officials also asserted that experts from Roorkee-based National Institute of Hydrology (NIC) and other agencies were also looking into the matter. However, the experts have so far failed to locate the exact source from where the water is coming. Other construction works of the project like reservoir and power house remain unaffected.

The Tapovan Vishnugad project was conceived as a merchant power project which is proposed to be commissioned by 2012.

Significantly, NTPC received a setback last year after the Centre suspended the construction work of its 600 Mw Loharinagpala under the pressure of some religious organisations and social activists, who are claiming that the project would create a negative impact on the ecology of the Bhagirathi river in Uttarkashi district. A final decision on Loharinagpala is still pending.