Report on Bhagirathi, Alakananda in a week

Amid growing opposition against the hydel projects in Uttarakhand, the Centre would make public an assessment report on Bhagirathi and Alaknanda basins prepared by IIT-Roorkee next week and send a technical team to assess GVK’s controversial 330 Mw Srinagar hydel project.

This was stated by union minister of state for environment and forests Jairam Ramesh in a letter to former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharati, who is on indefinite fast at the holy city of Haridwar seeking conservation of the Ganga river against all kinds of pollution.

In the backdrop of the growing opposition against hydel projects that had led to the scrapping of three major projects last year, Ramesh said IIT-Roorkee had been entrusted with the task of making an assessment report of both Bhagirathi and Alaknanda basins. “This assessment report has been completed recently and will be made public in the next one week,” Ramesh said.

Ramesh also assured Bharati that Centre will make it mandatory for all hydel projects to maintain a flow which is three to four times more than the required environmental standards.

He said in the next few days, a technical team of the environment ministry will visit the site of the Srinagar hydel project in the Garhwal region and carry out investigations regarding the relocation of Dhari Devi temple. “The report of this technical committee will be received by June 21, 2011 following which the next line of action will be decided,” Ramesh said in the letter.

Ramesh also said he would take up the issues being raised by Bharati with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to an assessment, there is a huge potential of harnessing power from both Bhagirath and Alaknanda rivers which together form the main Ganga. “To my knowledge, there must be 10,000 Mw of power potential in these two rivers and their tributaries,” said.

R P Thapliyal, former Managing Director of the Uttarkahand Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited.