The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEF & CC) has recommended dropping seven hydroelectric projects (HEPs) that have a total capacity of 2,337 Megawatts (MW), from the Kameng River Basin in Arunachal Pradesh due to their proximity to the Pakke Tiger Reserve, and unviable project locations. The MoEF has conveyed this to the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Water Resources, and the State government of Arunachal Pradesh, in a letter dated July 28.
"Kameng-I, Kameng-II, Pakke, Seba, Pasar, Bichom stage-I, and Bichom-II have been recommended to be dropped from the basin. On other free stretches of the river, no further HEPs should be planned/allotted in the entire Kameng basin even if they are smaller than 25MW and do not fall under the purview of EIA notification, 2006," the letter states.
A total of 44 HEPs, with cumulative installed capacity of 4,898.9 MW, were considered in the river basin study. Of the 44, 37 HEPs, with a total capacity of 2,561.9 MW, have been recommended and seven are to be dropped. The MoEF asked EIAs to be carried out for the 37 recommended projects. It added that modifications to project designs or rearrangements also need to be incorporated.
The MoEF based its recommendation on the 'cumulative impact assessment and carrying capacity study' of the river basin by Water And Power Consultancy Service Limited (WAPCOS).
"The recommendations of the report have been approved by the MoEF. They are accepted as a road map for development of HEPs in Kameng," the ministry said in its letter. "The report outlines recommended capacity, size, and location of HEPs commensurate with a carrying capacity conforming to the accepted cumulative impacts," the letter states.
With a glut of projects planned in Arunachal Pradesh, the Environment Ministry commissioned impact assessment studies for all major river basins such as Kameng, Tawang, Subansiri, and Dibang to look at the environmental and hydrological viability of the HEP projects planned on them.
