Dams / News

GUWAHATI, Nov 22 - The Union Environment and Forest Ministry has approved the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri Hydroelectric Power project under Section 2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act. The project is being implemented by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) Limited in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

The Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department and the Assam Forest Department had earlier sought prior approval of the Central Government under Section-2 of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for diversion of 3999.30 hectares of forest land (3183.00 hectares in Arunachal Pradesh and 816.30...

SHILLONG, Aug 23 ? Social activists in the North East are up in arms against the construction of mega dams in the region claiming it would bring ?untold suffering and land alienation among the indigenous poeple,? reports PTI. The Citizens Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD), a forum of people movements, NGOs, professional associations and leading citizens here said that the respective governments proposed to construct 168 large hydro-electric projects in the region and 28 of them were at the implementation stage and some others were also being developed.

Talking to media after its three...

SHILLONG, Aug 23: Going by the past experience of adverse economic, social and cultural impacts of dams, a serious review of the proposed plan to convert the north-eastern region into a power-house of the country by building 168 dams, is not only called for but imperative to prevent a massive disaster. The view was expressed at a two-day meeting of the 2nd Consultation on Dams in North east India, which concluded at Youth Hostel here yesterday. The Government of India has identified 168 sites as possible sites for dams, of which 26 projects have already been cleared.

About 50 participants from...

Silchar, June 24: The Mizoram government’s failure to rope in funding agencies has affected hydel power projects in the state. The hydel plant at Bairabi has received a setback because of lack of funds. Another project, a dam across the Tuivai river, continues to be mired in uncertainties though its implementing agency, the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (Neepco), has already initiated techno-economic and environment clearances.

The hydel project at Tuirial in north Mizoram, capable of generating 60 MW of power, may not be commissioned before 2006. According to sources in the...

NEW DELHI, June 18 — The major hydroelectric projects in the north-eastern region have been held up because of the delay in environment and forest clearances, and threat from militants. The ambitious plan of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to generate bulk of the promised 50,000 MW of additional hydel power from the North-East is under threat of getting derailed in the face of the hue and cry raised by various NGOs.

Work on the 2000 MW Subansiri (Lower) Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh was about to start when an objection over the environment clearance stalled it...

GUWAHATI, June 11— Concerned NGOs and members of the public from various corners of Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of the NE region raised serious objections to the way the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) is functioning in the region, at a public hearing on environmental issues on Wednesday. The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Ltd., in cooperation with the Pollution Control Board (PCB), Arunachal Pradesh and the office of the Deputy Commissioner of West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, organized the Environmental Public Hearing at the Aalo Club in Aalo, the...

GERUKAMUKH (Dhemaji), June 7 – For the power-starved Assam, the delay in the projected commissioning date of the Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Power Project, an undertaking of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), is bad news. Though dams in the seismically active North East are a cause of serious concern among sundry environmental groups, the positive side of the proposed power station is that once completed, it will feed an additional 2000 megawatts of power into the electric grids of the region.

And while the environmental groups are fuming and fretting over their...

New Delhi, May 26: Four years after it was approved and efforts were made to kickstart the scheme, the Pagladiya dam project has been identified as one of the “three problem areas” faced by the Union ministry of water resources. Newly-appointed minister of water resources Priya Ranjan Das Munshi said, “The Pagladiya project has been earmarked as one of the three projects that are problematic which would require careful handling by the ministry. The other two are Narmada and Cauvery.”

First proposed in the sixties, the project was cleared in 2000 with the objective of protecting 40,000 hectares...

Guwahati, May 10: The National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has constituted a multi-disciplinary committee to oversee the implementation of environmental safeguards for the Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project. Sources said the nine-member committee, drawn from various fields connected with environment, was constituted after the ministry of environment and forests made it mandatory to include environmental safeguards while clearing the project.

The committee comprises the general manager of the project, a representative of the ministry of environment and forests, NHPC officer in...

New Delhi, Feb. 15: Mizoram has approached the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to fund the Bairabi hydel project. The 80-MW project is expected to help the state become self-sufficient in power. The Bairabi project, likely to cost Rs 570 crore, was cleared by the Union ministries of power and environment last year.

Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga said the state had approached the bank, as it was the fastest and easiest way to get the money. The entire amount of power generated can be utilised by the state. Zoramthanga said the ADB?s response has been positive and the Union ministry of finance...