The struggle continues..

I wrote an article related to the upcoming hydel power projects in sikkim, a few months back . . Chanced upon it while cleaning my hard disk today. Thought it deserved a place here.

Development or Destruction

“Good Bye friend and when you go back to Delhi, tell them that the Lepchas chased you with bows and arrows” joked Dawa (Gen Sec ACT) with the usual glint in his eyes. I was leaving Dzongu; with a heavy heart though. I had formed a bond with the place. With the simple hard working people, the gurgling river, the majestic mountains, the aromatic smell of burning wood and even the rickety bamboo bridge which I must admit requires some skill to cross. Dzongu had made an indelible impression on me.

It was sheer chance that brought me here. In Gangtok, while on an assignment to study the impacts of upcoming Hydro Electric Projects (HEP), I met two members of Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) who urged me to come to Dzongu and see the situation first hand. “It’s in a remote corner of Sikkim. It will take 5 hours from here and let me warn you the roads are bad” said Gyatso, whose kind hospitality I was to enjoy for the next two days. It was just the thing I need to complete my assignment and I decide to pounce upon the opportunity.

I spent the next two days discussing the situation with the locals and the members of ACT. “It’s a fight to save our community from extinction. We are a Vanishing Tribe” exclaimed Dawa. He had every reason for this concern. Lepchas were the aboriginal inhabitants of Sikkim and are now a minority in Sikkim. With 6 mega hydel power project coming up in Dzongu the community is bound to feel threatened. “Very Soon there will more Labourers than the Lepchas in Dzongu and it is supposed to be a protected area for us!!” said Dawa. The people of the region are also hardly skilled to be employed in activity related to the dams.

I went to the proposed project site of Panan HEP, Dzongu; a 300 MW project which was granted Environmental Clearance on January 2nd. The dam is to be built on Rangyang Chhu, a major tributary of Teesta with a power house at Panan Village. The dam site is on the buffer zone of Kanchendzonga Biosphere Reserve. The area near the dam site comprises of dense mixed deciduous as well as evergreen forests. The forest here has rich biodiversity. Out 160 Mammalian Species found in Sikkim, 105 Species are found in Panan HEP Catchment. Out of which many species such as Himalayan Tahr, Serow, Blue sheep – Bharal, Musk deer, Red panda, Tibetan wolf, Leopard, Snow leopard, Clouded leopard fall in the schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act. Since the project is Run of the River (ROR) type the submergence here would be insignificant. However the major impact on the wildlife would be due to the human intervention and related construction activities such as blasting, vehicular movement, cutting of trees etc. The place has had little human interference so far as the area is sparsely populated. An influx of construction workers and the construction activities could have disastrous consequences for this ecologically sensitive area.

However the biggest impact of the HEP would be on the river itself. The river is in pristine condition and the EIA report calls it as unstressed of any pollution. The EIA report also calls the majority of the species as pollution intolerant. There is also no provision of compulsory downstream flow in the Environmental Clearance given to the project. Thus the 14 km stretch of river between dam and power house may have insufficient flow once the dam is commissioned. Rangit Dam is a good example in this regard. I visited the Rangit HEP a few days after visiting Dzongu. This was the lean season and thus there was hardly any water flowing downstream of the dam. The officials at the dam site said they simply couldn’t afford to release water as it would automatically mean less power generated. Same thing could happen with Rangyong Chuu. This beautiful river might actually disappear for the section between the dam and the Power house during the lean season.

Energy Security is definitely a major concern for our country and Sikkim is a part of 50,000 MW Hydel Power Scheme launched by the Government of India. With 22 Major Power Projects coming up in the State, this could also act as a major source of revenue for the cash strapped Sikkim government. The 510 MW Teesta 5 Project, the first of the 22 projects is yet to be commissioned. It has been full of controversies right from the start with questionable public hearing, poor R&R measures, collapse of the Surge Shaft, improper muck disposal and not to mention the various social problems associated with the project. Thus common sense would tell anyone to have a detailed study of the environmental and social impacts of the Teesta- V project after it is commissioned. Only after that should other projects should be awarded. But the government probably thinks otherwise. It has been awarding projects to various power companies at an alarming rate. If everything thing goes as per state government's plan, it might mean big money for the power companies and the government, but at the same time it could probably lead to one of India's biggest environmental disasters.

Since independence India has looked at hydel power as a cheap and reliable source of power. With global warming being the talk of the town these days, it is likely that there will be further empahsis on hydel power as it is an emission free source of power. But it is always an environment friendly source? That is one question we need to ask ourselves.

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P.S - ACT members launched a hunger strike in June, 2007 protesting against the HEPS coming up in Dzongu , with Dawa spearheading the movement. He was on a hunger strike for nearly 2 months before he was forced to withdraw due to ill health. The relay hunger strike continues till date.

Log on to http://weepingsikkim.blogspot.com/ for details.