Arunachal's Subansiri Upper hydel project gets panel nod, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Environment Ministry has recommended environmental clearance for the 1,605 MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project (SUHEP) in Arunachal Pradesh.
• This recommendation comes despite concerns over the felling of approximately 1,35,733 trees for the project.
• The final environmental clearance is contingent upon a Stage-I forest clearance, as the project requires the diversion of 2,733 hectares of forest land.
• Compensatory afforestation has been proposed on 5,466 hectares of degraded forest land across 14 districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) is the project proponent for the run-of-the-river project.
• The project's primary objectives are power generation and flood moderation.

Detailed Insights:

• The SUHEP is a run-of-the-river project located on the Subansiri basin in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The EAC noted that the extensive tree felling could negatively impact forest structure, habitat continuity, biodiversity, wildlife movement, and associated ecosystem services.
• NHPC has been advised to develop a comprehensive, site-specific, and time-bound Ecosystem Restoration and Biodiversity Management Plan.
• Due to Arunachal Pradesh's high forest cover, specific guidelines under the Forest Conservation Act allow compensatory afforestation obligations to be fulfilled in other states with lower forest cover, such as Madhya Pradesh.
• The identified 5,466 hectares for compensatory afforestation in Madhya Pradesh represent twice the size of the diverted forest land, adhering to regulations when equivalent non-forest land is unavailable.
• The Supreme Court in August 2009 had directed that any upstream projects on the Subansiri River be considered independently on their own merit.
• Earlier, the National Board for Wildlife had approved the Subansiri Lower project with a condition against future upstream projects, which the Supreme Court later modified based on a plea from the Arunachal Pradesh government.
• The project involves constructing a 237-meter-high storage dam and includes assessments of potential impacts from glacial lake outburst floods and dam breaches on the downstream Subansiri Lower hydel project.
• Concerns were raised regarding NHPC's past non-compliance with compensatory afforestation conditions for the Subansiri Lower project.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC): A multi-disciplinary committee constituted by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, tasked with appraising projects for environmental clearance.
• Environmental Clearance: A statutory approval required for certain developmental projects to proceed, granted after assessing their potential environmental impacts and proposing mitigation measures.
• Forest Conservation Act (FCA), 1980: An Indian parliamentary act that regulates the diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes and mandates compensatory measures to offset ecological losses.
• Compensatory Afforestation: The practice of planting new trees in a designated area to compensate for the loss of forest cover due to diversion of forest land for non-forest activities.
• Run-of-the-river project: A type of hydroelectric power generation that harnesses the natural flow and elevation drop of a river to generate electricity, typically without creating large reservoirs.
• Ecosystem Restoration and Biodiversity Management Plan: A strategic framework designed to assist in the recovery of degraded ecosystems and conserve existing biodiversity, often involving specific actions like reintroducing species or altering landforms.