The Pithoragarh based Mahakali lok Sangathan (MlS) has reiterated the demand for corrective steps to solve purported anomalies in the Pancheswar multipurpose project. Members of the organisation stated that 45 eminent environmentalists and river activists of the country wrote to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) secretary, head of Environmental Assessment Committee (EAC) and its members, raising their reservations regarding the public hearing process for the project.
According to them, public hearing held on August 9, 11 and 17 (in Champawat, Pithoragarh and Almora) were not as per the guidelines of the 2006 notification. Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan said that the 134 affected villages are remote and accessibility is difficult, with limited access to newspapers where public hearing notice was given. Hence, the info given by affected people was limited in nature, and without complete knowledge of the various studies. He said, “The environmentalists added that whatever may be the motivations behind the project, whatever may the advantages or disadvantages be, the procedure used for holding public hearings by with-holding crucial information from project affected people and further ignoring the objections raised by many, the continued process of clearance by EAC is unacceptable and will only cause severe damage to environment.”
Two big dams Pancheswar and Rupali are proposed on Mahakali river in U’khand. According to Mahakali lok Sangathan, on the basis of the reports of the public hearings of the Pancheshwar multipurpose project, the EAC assigned with clearances for "river valley and hydro power projects" met on October 24 and decided the fate of thousands of hectares of land to be submerged and more than 40,000 affected families, in less than an hour.
“The committee postponed the final decision for the next meeting and constituted a committee of 7 members. The committee made a secret visit to the site without informing or meeting any of the Project Affected Families (PAFs) or social groups protesting the dam. The report of this committee will be submitted before the next meeting and will also be considered in taking final decision. Many groups and eminent people had sent their objections to the EAC. However, the EAC meeting minutes reflect that none of those objections were considered at the meeting.
There are many such issues, which have been ignored by the EAC in its present assessment. EAC must consider the continuance of the clearance process for the Pancheswar multipurpose project and reconduct the public hearing after giving adequate information on various reports in local languages
