Govt may revive hydel project on Bhagirathi

The government is taking a fresh look at the 600 Mw Loharinag-Pala hydel project on the Bhagirathi river following an expert committee report cautioning against stopping work at an advanced stage, as it might be disastrous for an active seismic zone. Work on it was suspended last year.

A three-member committee comprising the Union power secretary, the environment secretary and the chairman of the Central Water Commission told the government after visiting the area, the tunnels that had been dug through the mountains for this project could potentially devastate the region if there was any seismic activity. The region falls under the most severe seismic zone.

Chairman of the Central Water Commission A K Bajaj said the team made its assessment after talking to the local people and consulting technical experts.

Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has set up another committee to look into the possible fallouts of the decision to stop work on the project as also to find ways to safeguard the tunnels.

Experts have been calling for a 200 km stretch free of hydel projects on the Ganges, following reports of receding Himalayan glaciers. They have demanded that all new projects on the Bhagirathi be decommissioned and new ones banned between Gaumukh and Haridwar in Uttarakhand. Three independent experts of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGBRA) have urged the government to clean the river of hydel projects. They also disagree with reports that the tunnels could lead to devastation in the region.

Ravi Chopra, member of NGBRA, said: “I do not think abandoning tunnels will create major problems. All dams have to be abandoned some day. Tunnels can be lined with steel or cement. In China, abandoned tunnels are used to store military stocks. Not far away is Harsil, a major military encampment. These tunnels can provide space for their stocks. To my mind, length of tunnels is not very long. Most of them are entrances to tunnels.”

A ministerial group led by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has already decided not to go ahead with two projects at Bhairon Ghati and Pala Maneri in the area.

Gaumukh is on the edge of Gangotri glacier — from where Ganga originates — and is the source of Bhagirathi. A report submitted to the environment ministry has said that Tehri dam has already destroyed the free flowing character of the Bhagirathi. The dam, said to be the world’s fifth tallest, is killing the river, it said.

Public-sector NTPC Ltd last year announced that work on its 600 Mw Loharinag-Pala barrage project on the Bhagirathi had been suspended in the wake of protests by environmentalist and former professor at the Indian Institute of Technology G D Agarwal. Work on the project had commenced in 2005 at an investment of Rs 2,200 crore.