The Ministry of Environment and Forests has denied forest diversion proposals for the much hyped 1500 MW Tipaimukh Hydro Electric Project (THEP) in Mizoram and Manipur.
While this information was given by Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti in a written reply in lok Sabha on Thursday, sources said, this decision by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), under MoEF, is a halt on the diversion of required Forest land and not a stop to the implementation of the Tipaimukh hydro project.
The FAC has suggested for a revision of the project in a way where forest land requirement can be minimised and therefore entail lesser socio-environment impact. The project that requires a diversion of 25,822 hectares of Forest land in both the states of Mizoram and Manipur was planned on River Barak in Manipur.
The FAC has observed that the forest land required for the project is simply disproportionate to the power generation plan of the project and the per-megawatt requirement of sixteen hectares of forest land for the project is extra ordinarily high. According to documents, a total of approximately 14,634 trees including 11,306 trees below 60 cm girth and another 4.4 million of bamboo columns in 1063.4 hectares of bamboo forest will be permanently lost due to the project in Mizoram. The total loss of trees and bamboo groves in both Mizoram and Manipur due to the submergence by Tipaimukh dam is estimated at over 8 million trees and over 4 million bamboo groves, which is a disturbing and unacceptable figure by any count.
Further, both Manipur and Mizoram fall in the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot , a globally recognized area with rich and diverse flora and fauna. The Tipaimukh dam project will have direct impact on endangered species of flora and fauna. The project had kicked up controversy when politicians and civil societies in Bangladesh also opposed on the grounds that Barak is an international river and hence, the interests of Bangladesh have to be also taken into account according to prevailing international practices.
The Foreign Minister of Bangladesh in December 2012 in a letter to her Indian counterpart had pointed out that water flows down from the confluence in Tipaimukh to Surma and Khushiara rivers in the country and construction of the reservoir at this junction will affect the seasonal flow in the downstream. The letter further pointed out that the project will adversely impact the environment, economy and security of Bangladesh, which cannot be taken lightly.