Sikkim BJP president raises Tashiding HEP issue

SUBMITS MEMORANDUM TO CHIEF SECRETARY
GANGTOK, 13 Mar: Bharatiya Janta Party’s Sikkim unit president, Padam Bahadur Chettri, submitted a memorandum of queries to the Chief Secretary on Monday on the closure of the 99 MW Ting Ting HEP and 96 MW Lethang HEP.
While releasing copies of the memorandum and attached documents to the press today, Mr Chettri stated that if the Chief Secretary is not able to take satisfactory action within one week, then he would approach the Courts or other appropriate forums “in the interest of the people of Sikkim”.
Addressing the press conference today, Mr Chettri pointed out that the government notification on the closure of the two HEPs states that this was done in ‘public interest’. On the same, he demanded that the State Government define ‘public interest’ in the context of the scrapped projects.
He argued that three hydel projects were cleared for the same river – Rathong Chu - but despite strong protest by Save Sikkim to have the Tashiding hydel project scrapped as well, the State government has not done so.  
“If public interest is the criterion, then Tashiding project is not less important. Recently, jhakris and activists were arrested and the area is in a sinking zone with dense population. Why did the Sikkim government not consider the ‘public interest’ of the Tashiding people?”, asks the memorandum.
Mr Chettri has further asked the CS for a copy of the report of the Review Committee instituted by the State Govt for these projects.
The BJP president mentions that the inhabitants of Dzongu opposed the hydel projects and went on hunger strike for more than 900 days but the Panan hydel project there was still not scrapped. He expressed that the Lepchas of Dzongu deserve more protection than any other people in Sikkim. He also alleged that the Sikkim government contravened the conditions of the grant of Environmental Clearance by keeping the Labor Colony and staff within Dzongu.
Mr Chettri questioned that if the two hydel projects [in West Sikkim] had to be closed eventually, then why were they started in the first place? He contended that if a proper and effective public hearing was conducted, the government would not have had to take such steps.
In fact, the Sikkim BJP sees a conspiracy in such moves, convinced that huge sums of money would change hands due to the financial liabilities coming on the govt because of the scrapings. Mr. Chettri alleged that just as the SPDC was servicing a loan taken out by supposed hydel developer Amalgamated Transpower India Limited, for a project which never happened, something similar might transpire in the two projects scrapped in West Sikkim as well. He announced that should something like this happen, he would file a PIL.