The Matu Jansangathan group has demanded that the Indian Banks’ Association make rehabilitation/resettlement and environment safeguard policies before funding any hydro power project.
The organisation has said that most of the foreign agencies involved in such projects have their own rehabilitation/resettlement and environment safeguard policies apart from the Government of India’s policies for project affected people. However, Indian banks do not have any such policies and project proponents use this lacuna to skirt issuesabilitation/resettlement and environment, said Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan.
A statement issued by the organisation States, “The Vishnuprayag HEP on Alaknanda river is responsible for the destruction experienced in the downstream area and villages including lambagad, Vinayak Chatti, Pandukeshwar, Govindghat and Pinola Ghat because the project proponent did not open the sluice gates of the dam on time after heavy rainfall on June 16-17, 2013. On the same river downstream the Srinagar HEP is responsible for destruction in downstream areas by flood caused the dumping of muck on banks of Alaknanda by the company in blatant violation of environmental norms. The Ravi Chopra committee formed on the orders of the Supreme Court had in its report been critical of the role of dams in the 2013 disaster,” said the organisation.