Friday, October 21, 2011

SIBLAC welcomes appointment of ‘High Powered Committee’ on the Rathong Chu HEPs

GANGTOK, 20 Oct: Representatives from several constituent units and members of Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee (SIBLAC) met today to discuss the Union Home Ministry’s decision to appoint a “high powered committee” for making detailed assessment of ground reality issues raised by SIBLAC and NASBO on Hydro Power Projects being developed all across Sikkim with particular reference to three HEPs on Rathong Chu River in West Sikkim, informs a SIBLAC release.
As per media reports, the High Powered Committee is expected to examine the issues raised by SIBLAC & NASBO to protect the “overall religious, cultural diversity of the region.”
The release contends that some researchers have said that stress from water piled behind the Dikchu Dam and series of underground tunnels near seismic fault lines may have triggered the 18 September Earthquake. ‘Environmentalists believe that these run-of-the-river schemes that divert rivers through mountain tunnels in Sikkim’s young Himalayas are damaging the fragile geology in an area that is classified as Seismic Zone-IV’, the release adds.
The release further expresses gratitude towards the Union Home Minister for appointing a High Powered Committee to examine the issues raised by SIBLAC and NASBO.
“We urge the High Powered Committee to have independent interactions with senior monks and other concerned citizens. The High Powered Committee should take note of the fact that the State Govt. officials would have no role in such interactions,” the release adds.

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