locals and environmental activists complain that the Jaiprakash Power Ventures company has continued environmental violations on the Alaknanda river in the State.
The company has continued to dump debris in the Alaknanda river against environmental regulations. On international human rights day, the affected people and activists have reiterated that they will continue to opposed the violations by the company at the ground and in the court of justice. It will be recalled that the flood, in this river which had caused damage in Srinagar, was caused due the debris from dam construction site dumped along its banks.
According to Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan, the company has continued to violate regulations at the Vishnuprayag hydro electric project on the Alaknanda. He said, “Delay in opening the sluice gates at this project by the company employees on June 16-17 had caused destruction in many villages and environment downstream of the dam. Even after continued agitations and reminders to Government officials by affected people, the company has not started following environmental safeguards in the region affected by the debris of the dam project while clearing the dam reservoir. No attention is being paid for the future protection of the areas downstream of the dam,” he said. He further informed that members of Vishnuprayag Bandh Aapda Prabhavit Sangh had written a letter to chief conservator of forests and the divisional forest officer concerned about this continuing violation demanding necessary steps to stop this, failing which they would be forced to stop the violations on their own.
Vimal Bhai further informed, “On November 29, the divisional forest officer went to examine the site and told us that in October the forest department had fined the company Rsone lakh. However, there has been no change in the actions of the company and condition of the said area yet. The company is dumping the debris at many places including the Alaknanda. It seems as if they have bought a license for violating environmental standards by paying the Rs one lakh fine. The DFO has not taken any step to stop this violation,” said the activist.
Surprisingly, the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Uttarakhand Government are not taking any action in this case even though such violations had exacerbated the damage wreaked by the disaster in June which had killed thousands of people. In the November 20 hearing of a case filed by Matu Jansagathan in the National Green Tribunal on environment violation done by the project proponent of Vishnuprayag HEP, the NGT had in its interim order had pointed out that nobody was appearing on behalf of MoEF in the case. Activists alleged that the company is playing tactics to delay the case but the locals will continue to oppose such anomalies.