Govt committee endorses scrapping of 3 hydel projects in West Sikkim

REPORT YET TO BE TABLED OFFICIALLY, FINAL CALL ONLY AFTER THAT: SOURCES INFORM

GANGTOK, 18 Dec: The high-powered committee constituted by the State government to examine issues related to implementation of three hydel projects in West Sikkim [the 99 MW Ting Ting Hydro Electric Project; the 97 MW Lethang HEP and the 96 MW Tashiding HEP all on the Rathong Chu] is informed to have finalized its report. Official sources confirm that the committee, chaired by Chief Secretary Karma Gyatso, has forwarded its findings for further opinion and recommendations to the Law Department. It is also informed that the opinion of the committee is that the 3 hydel power projects in West District be ‘scrapped’. The Law Department, in turn, is informed to have returned the opinion and recommendations of the committee without much ‘input’.

As per available information, the findings of the committee have not yet been forwarded to the State government and therefore, no final decision on the implementation or non implementation of the said hydel projects, has been taken yet.
Sources inform that the recent protests against the hydel projects raised by a section of society and especially Buddhist organizations, and the grounds on which the protests have been based, have played an important role in shaping the opinion of the committee.
There is also the fact that the 97 MW Lethang hydroelectric project has not been granted the No Objection Certificate by the National Wildlife Board, without which the project implementation cannot proceed. Meanwhile, the 99 MW Ting-Ting HEP has also not seen much development as far as construction and infrastructure development is concerned or even land acquisition.
It is only the 96 MW Tashiding HEP which has completed the land acquisition process and is presently engaged in construction of adit tunnels and road network etc.
It is informed that the opinion of the Law Department was sought as there could be legal implications, should the government decide to scrap or terminate these projects. The private power developers have invested huge sums of money in the projects, especially on Tashiding HEP where land acquisition compensation has been provided already and the people too seem happy with the compensation received.
Only recently, the affected people had formed a coordination committee to supervise the implementation of various works which the project would entail in their area. In such a scenario, the private developers may drag the government to court if the project was scrapped, as happened a couple of years ago when Madhya Bharat Power Corporation filed a petition against the State government on similar grounds of terminating a project midway.
The opinion of the committee is informed to have been influenced by the reactions of Buddhist organizations and the several representations made to the state government by groups such as SIBLAC and people’s associations raising concerns about erosion and disturbance of certain religious and cultural symbols attached with the Rathong Chu on which all the three projects are to be developed.
The Minority Commission had also taken up the cudgels on behalf of the protesting associations and organizations on similar grounds and had even written to the Prime Minister. The recent earthquake of 18 September and the consequent damages suffered by Sikkim would also have been taken into consideration.
The government had taken a positive step in the wake of the recent protests and constituted a committee to examine the issues raised by these organizations and recommend to the state government on the feasibility to incorporate modifications if required.