Organisations launch Joint Action against hydel projects in West Sikkim

JOINT MEMORANDUM TO BE SUBMITTED TO THE CM 

GANGTOK, 04 Dec: A group of organizations have come together to launch a “Joint Action” against Ting-Ting, Tashiding and Lethang Hydro-Electric Projects and announced their common intent at a jointly-convened press meet here yesterday.

This platform for Joint Action follows from a resolution passed by representatives of Sikkim Bhutia-Lepcha Apex Committee [SIBLAC], National Sikkimese Bhutia Organization [NASBO], All Sikkim Monastery Association [ASMAN], Concerned Lepchas of Sikkim [CLOS], Affected Citizens of Teesta [ACT], All Sikkim Self Employed and Unemployed Association [ASESE&UA], People’s Forum on Earthquake [PFOE], Nagrik Adhikar Suraksha Sangathan [NASS] and Save Sikkim at a meeting convened a day earlier to discuss the three hydel projects in West Sikkim.
The immediate objective of this platform is to compel the State and Union governments and all other stakeholders to stop construction of Ting-Ting [99 MW], Tashiding [96 MW] and Lethang [97 MW] hydro projects in West Sikkim.
The platform has also decided to submit a joint memorandum to the Chief Minister on Monday conveying their demand. Copies of the memorandum will also be submitted to the Centre and the stakeholders, it is informed.
SIBLAC convener, Tseten Tashi Bhutia, clarified that the platform is not against development but insistent that it should not come at the cost of dharma, survival of the cultural heritage of the state. He demanded that these projects be stopped immediately until the reports of the Central and State high powered committees is submitted. The ultimate demand, he added, is to have these projects abandoned all together.
The platform also condemned recent statements of members of the State Committee on the projects that the people of the affected area were happy with the projects.
They alleged that the observation made by two committee members, who recently toured the project area, that there was no negative feedback as regards the development of the project on the Rathong Chu was “false and fabricated”.
“They utterly failed to discover the apprehension of the villagers as they did not take the pain to walk down the hills where multiple cracks have developed following the 18 September earthquake and since contractors of Shiga Energy Pvt Ltd started digging a tunnel for the  97 MW Tashiding HEP,” they contended.
It may be mentioned here that a State High Powered Committee for hydel projects on the Rathong Chu was constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary with Secretaries of Power, Industries, Law, Land Revenue and Disaster Management and Ecclesiastical Departments as members.
The platform also criticized the preliminary survey conducted by two members of the High Powered Committee, claiming that the findings were not consistent with ground realities and voicing apprehension that their observation may affect future assessment to be made by the High Power committee appointed by the Union Government.
Recalling the action taken by the CM in 1997 when he announced the scrapping of a hydel project projects on Rathong Chu by stating that ‘it is related to people’s sentiments, religion and culture’, Mr Bhutia stated that another project on the same river is ‘religious and cultural genocide’.
He urged the CM to rejuvenate the same spirit that he showed in 1997 and scrap these three projects as well.
ASESE&UA president, Nawin Kiran mentioned that no immediate action was being planned by the group if some serious steps were initiated and urged the state government to decide “in favour of the people of Sikkim”.
It was mentioned that memorandums on the same were submitted by different organizations but no outcome has been seen so far and it was also alleged that even concerned government officials have been working in favour of the projects.
Affected persons Chandra Bahadur Rai and Gauri Shankar Chettri of Lower Onglop in Sakyong, West Sikkim, whose houses are situated just above a tunnel of a hydel project, informed that the whole village is sinking and a big crack has developed in the area.
They informed that the crack is some kilometers deep and has been increasing by the day and that the people fear that if the work continues then Lower Onglop will vanish and even Upper Onglop would be imperiled.
A Save Sikkim member, Mani Kumar Khatiwada, in turn, said that there was no transparency in the process of the project and even the people of the area do not know when the public hearing for the project was conducted.