Upset over the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) submission before the Supreme Court, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has written a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and lodged complaint against the MoEF.
Rawat mentioned that Uttarakhand has tremendous potential to contribute to the energy security of the country –a matter which has been given highest priority of the incumbent Union Government's development agenda.
Unfortunately, the State is being subjected to an unfair and unjust treatment by the MoEF which is giving scant attention to evolving a scientific and rational approach to the issue of hydropower development. This can lead to stoppage of all hydro projects and may adversely affect the energy security of the country.
On August 13, 2013, the apex court had directed not to issue Forest and Environment clearance to any hydro electric project in Uttarakhand till further order and directed MoEF for review in a span of three months.
MoEF constituted the so-called expert body without consulting the State Government, ignoring the direction of the Supreme Court. Over 16 months have passed since the order of the apex court, but MoEF is still dithering. The time period mentioned by the Supreme Court is three months.
On December 5, 2014, the MoEF further requested for another 12 months for the expert body (with some additional members) for the study. The report is biased and lacks scientific evidence base, due to which the two apex bodies (Central Water Commission and Central Electricitv Authority) have rejected it and have withdrawn from the expert group and have submitted an independent report on the matter.