VILLAGERS DEMAND THAT EITHER NHPC ACQUIRE THEIR LAND OR ENSURE QUALITY REINFORCEMENT BY AWARDING CONTRACT FOR ‘GROUNDING’ WORK TO AFFECTED VILLAGERS
GANGTOK, 14 Feb: A meeting of the affected residents of Dipudara above Singtam here in East Sikkim, held yesterday to address problems faced by them due the construction of the Teesta Stage-V hydel project, deliberated over their common problems and future course of action.
The meeting had the panchayat secretary, Nanda Kidhore Rai, in attendance and was held at Dipudara, Lower Khamdong, informs a press release issued jointly by Mr. Rai and nine affected families.
The meeting discussed threats created to the village due to seepage of the water discharged from the Stage-V power house site and deliberated on possible solutions for it. The water, the release states, has severely affected the village by rendering the land unstable. The problem has been a continuing one for the past three years, ever since the project was commissioned.
The meeting decided to place their grievances to the government again, requesting that immediate action be taken to redress their plight and NHPC directed to acquire the affected land. The affected villagers have been raising this demand for the past three years.
The Stage-V surge-shaft and lower-surge gallery tunnel run right above the village and the head-race tunnel also runs through the village, the release informs. Exactly below is the underground power station and a cliff. Already affected by landslides during monsoons, the new excavations have rendered the landholdings in the village even more unstable and one of the villagers, Sun Maya Tamang, has already lost substantial portions of her land to this phenomenon.
The locals fear that this year, the monsoons will carve away even larger portions of the land and imperil the entire village.
It may be recalled that in December 2009, long cracks had developed on the slopes above Dipudara and the tunnels and water had seeped down to the village.
At that time, the area MLA and NHPC officials had visited the affected area and the villagers had demanded that since the land’s stability had been compromised by the NHPC project, it might as well be acquired by the NHPC and the people adequately compensated.
In the same month, a few days later, a larger meeting was convened by district authorities with the villagers and experts from Mines & Geology Department brought in to consult with NHPC officials. At that time, NHPC officials had assured to construct cemented grounding within three months to prevent further landslides. At the same meeting it was also agreed that if the problem of water seepage persisted, then NHPC would acquire the entire affected land.
Since then, the release contends, NHPC has spent close to Rs. One crore on grounding work, but brought not brought any relief to the affected people. The release adds that recently [on 04 and 07 Feb 2011], NHPC has invited tenders for the same work, this time estimated for Rs. 3 crores.
The affected people, in turn, approached the SDM (East) and requested that this tender process be stayed until NHPC had acquired their land. The SDM, the release adds, had accordingly written to NHPC conveying the request. NHPC has however paid no heed.
The panchayat secretary, Nanda Kishore Rai, at yesterday’s meeting, shared that he was aware of the situation and would stand with the people on the demand and also assured to take up the matter with the State government.
The villagers also contend that the contract for the grounding work has never been given to the affected people, an option which could have ensured better civil works. The awarding of these works to NHPC’s favoured contractors, who do not hail from the affected village, the release alleges, is one of the reasons why the grounding work have not delivered projected results.
The villagers also stated that their protest against the tender was projected by some as an anti-government stand and clarified that this was not the case and reiterate that their’s is not a political stand.
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| The Sikkim NOW! edition of 07 Dec 2009 on the cracks reported at Dipudara |
The meeting had the panchayat secretary, Nanda Kidhore Rai, in attendance and was held at Dipudara, Lower Khamdong, informs a press release issued jointly by Mr. Rai and nine affected families.
The meeting discussed threats created to the village due to seepage of the water discharged from the Stage-V power house site and deliberated on possible solutions for it. The water, the release states, has severely affected the village by rendering the land unstable. The problem has been a continuing one for the past three years, ever since the project was commissioned.
The meeting decided to place their grievances to the government again, requesting that immediate action be taken to redress their plight and NHPC directed to acquire the affected land. The affected villagers have been raising this demand for the past three years.
The Stage-V surge-shaft and lower-surge gallery tunnel run right above the village and the head-race tunnel also runs through the village, the release informs. Exactly below is the underground power station and a cliff. Already affected by landslides during monsoons, the new excavations have rendered the landholdings in the village even more unstable and one of the villagers, Sun Maya Tamang, has already lost substantial portions of her land to this phenomenon.
The locals fear that this year, the monsoons will carve away even larger portions of the land and imperil the entire village.
It may be recalled that in December 2009, long cracks had developed on the slopes above Dipudara and the tunnels and water had seeped down to the village.
At that time, the area MLA and NHPC officials had visited the affected area and the villagers had demanded that since the land’s stability had been compromised by the NHPC project, it might as well be acquired by the NHPC and the people adequately compensated.
In the same month, a few days later, a larger meeting was convened by district authorities with the villagers and experts from Mines & Geology Department brought in to consult with NHPC officials. At that time, NHPC officials had assured to construct cemented grounding within three months to prevent further landslides. At the same meeting it was also agreed that if the problem of water seepage persisted, then NHPC would acquire the entire affected land.
Since then, the release contends, NHPC has spent close to Rs. One crore on grounding work, but brought not brought any relief to the affected people. The release adds that recently [on 04 and 07 Feb 2011], NHPC has invited tenders for the same work, this time estimated for Rs. 3 crores.
The affected people, in turn, approached the SDM (East) and requested that this tender process be stayed until NHPC had acquired their land. The SDM, the release adds, had accordingly written to NHPC conveying the request. NHPC has however paid no heed.
The panchayat secretary, Nanda Kishore Rai, at yesterday’s meeting, shared that he was aware of the situation and would stand with the people on the demand and also assured to take up the matter with the State government.
The villagers also contend that the contract for the grounding work has never been given to the affected people, an option which could have ensured better civil works. The awarding of these works to NHPC’s favoured contractors, who do not hail from the affected village, the release alleges, is one of the reasons why the grounding work have not delivered projected results.
The villagers also stated that their protest against the tender was projected by some as an anti-government stand and clarified that this was not the case and reiterate that their’s is not a political stand.
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