NHPC paid Rs. 75 lakh as ‘damage compensation’ for unauthorized dumping, confirm forest officials and Cabinet proceedings

ANAND OBEROI
GANGTOK, 05 Mar: With the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation [NHPC] claiming that the news-report “NHPC fined Rs. 75 Lakh for irresponsible dumping of waste” [published in NOW! dated 28 February 2012] as being ‘misleading’ and ‘misreported’, some facts have come to light and the report stands correct. NHPC, in a rejoinder [read NOW! dated 05 March 2012], has claimed that it was not fined at that it had “agreed to pay Rs. 74.5 lakh to Forest Department for strengthening and improving the protection works in the vulnerable areas on recommendation of a committee consisting of officials of NHPC & Forest Department” to amicably settle an old dispute.
It has been confirmed that the Forest Department was convinced that NHPC had carried out illegal and unauthorized dumping of excavated debris and muck in the Singtam-Dikchu belt, extensively damaging government property in more than eight locations which include the Balutar river bank, Patuk Adit-III, Samdong Adit-II, Dikchu Dam site, Makha Reserve Forest, Road Reserve at Ghattey to Balutar, Lower Samdong, Elaichey Reserve Forest and various other small areas which fall under the Forest department.
Public Prosecutor for the Forest Department, Advocate Jagat Rai, confirmed that NHPC and the Forest Department had amicably settled the matter out of court in the presence of witnesses on 29 January 2011 and as per the said agreement both parties had compromised on the matter of settlement at Rs. 74.5 Lakh.
“The amount was clearly a compensation for damage which NHPC and the Forest department settled out of court. At the relevant time, when NHPC had carried out these illegal dumping there was enough evidence of extensive damage which had totaled the compensation package to a tune of around Rs 14 crore under the Forest Conservation Act 1980. However, the amount was reduced when the inspection committee visited these areas later,” explained Mr. Rai.
He also informed that the Civil Title Suit was first registered in the Court of the District Judge (East & North) Gangtok in 2002 and then transferred to the Special Division (1) in 2010. The long pending case reached a conclusion for the dispute on the basis of a settlement agreement dated 29.1.2011.
“An Injunction Order was passed against NHPC and the Sub-Contractor against illegal dumping, heaping excavated muck into the river bank, river reserve and other non-diverted forest land on the same day the Civil Title Suit was registered,” informed Mr.Rai.
Sources also reveal that NHPC, in the initial years of the filing of the case, had offered the Forest department a settlement package of Rs. 2 crore which was turned down by the department as the case was still in court [claiming Rs. 14 crore]. The Forest department wanted to continue fighting the case initially but with the case pending for almost ten years, it was decided that a settlement be reached instead.
BK Tewari, Conservator of Forests, Territorial, while speaking to NOW! today informed that the ‘damage compensation’ had been transferred to the Land Use circle/division of the Forest department for restoration recently and that protective work was being initiated. He explained that the devastation caused by unauthorized dumping by NHPC was extensive when it was first noticed by the locals and the Range Officer (RO) who filed the complaint with the department, but as time passed by the rain and the Teesta had already washed away most of the excavated muck.
“The investigation, compensation assessment for damage restoration was done by a joint committee which constituted forest officials and representatives of the NHPC much later by when most of the damage done had been eroded. Later, it was after the inspection by the committee that an estimate of Rs. 75 lakh was decided upon,” stated the CF.
It may also be informed that the proceedings of a Cabinet Meeting held on 28 November 2011 had also approved the proposal of the Forest, Environment & Wildlife Management department seeking permission to utilize Rs. 75,55,000 provided by the authority of NHPC/Teesta stage-V as “Compensation towards unauthorized dumping of muck and damaging the Government property at Dikchu Dam site and Elaichey Khola in East Sikkim.” The fund will be utilized to carry out the restoration work as mentioned in the Cabinet Memo.No.1222/GOS/FEWMD Dated 16.09.2011.