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Save Silent Valley & Bharathapuzha Write to the Ministry of Environment & Forests Immediately. Dear friends, As all of us are aware by this time, the Public Hearing that took place on the proposed Pathrakkadavu HEP on the 21st May 2004 witnessed the complete violation of procedures as prescribed in the Environmental Impact Assessment Manuel of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India (based on Notification on EIA of developmental projects issued on 27-01-1994 and subsequently amended on 4th May 1994,10th April, 1997 and 27th Jan 2000). It also witnessed the violation of the right to express. Since the issue involves the impact on Silent Valley National Park, an International Heritage, the only remaining relatively untouched evergreen rainforests in the entire Western Ghats and the core area of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, every citizen of India has the responsibility to protect this area as per the Constitution of India and hence the fundamental right to voice his/her views at the Public Hearing on the proposed Pathrakkadavu HEP which is nothing but revised Silent Valley HEP. Since the issue also involves Bharathapuzha River, all the to be affected downstream people and grama panchayaths also have a say in this Public Hearing. Hardly 100 sq.km of the 6186 sq.km of the catchment of Bharathapuzha River has intact forest cover and out of this 79 sq.km falls in Silent valley National Park. The catchments of all the other tributaries namely Gayatri, Chitoor and Kalpathi puzha are heavily degraded. Inspite of 11 irrigation schemes across these tributaries Palakkad district faces acute drought in summer a testimony to the severity of catchment degradation. Actually the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) is the agency authorized by the MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) for conducting the PH. But, the one-sided Public Hearing stage show performed together by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), KSPCB and the local political parties did not allow anybody who had to say something opposing the project to speak out at the Public Hearing. What happened on 21st cannot be called a Public Hearing. This gross injustice has to be immediately brought to the notice of the MoEF. The hurried manner in which the panel recommendation gave unanimous decision to go ahead with the project on the 21st itself amidst so much controversy is self-revealing. The MoEF should know what really happened at the Public Hearing. So please draft your individual letter focusing on the below points and on the above background and send the same by post to the Secretary, MoEF (address below) and send copies of the same letter to the Chief Minister, Kerala and the Chairman, KSPCB immediately. 1. The Public Hearing on the proposed Pathrakkadavu HEP that took place on the 21stof May 2004 witnessed gross violation of procedures for conducting Public Hearing as prescribed in the EIA Manuel and the denial of right to speak. It was a completely one-sided hearing jointly organized and managed by the KSEB, the KSPCB and local politicians using local miscreants. Just five representatives among the list of 43 (opposing the project) who had submitted their names to the Chairman were invited to speak. The 43 representations included serious concerns with regard to the social, economic and technical viability of the project and indepth analysis of its environmental impacts. Including famous poetess Sugathakumari, they were not even allowed to speak out their opinion by the violent crowd. Even eminent scientists and researchers who have more than twenty years of experience working in Silent Valley National Park were not allowed to speak. We strongly condemn this organized hijacking of the public hearing on the 21st May 2004. We also demand that the Ministry of Environment and Forests should not consider the proposed HEP for clearance based on this `organized show' called `public hearing' and should order the project proponents to conduct a fresh public hearing. 2. In their REIA report, the EIA agency themselves have claimed that the comprehensive EIA is progressing. Moreover the impact of the dam, powerhouse and HT lines on the Silent Valley National Park close by, internationally recognized, as one of the only remaining relatively undisturbed rainforests all over the Western Ghats, one of the `Biodiversity Hotspots' of the world simply could not be assessed by just five months data collection from records. It requires years of very exhaustive field studies based on consultations with experienced people in the area. The hurried manner in which the EIA and public hearing was organized itself reveals the hidden agenda. Hence we demand that the new Public Hearing can be held only after a comprehensive, exhaustive study is carried out on the impact of the project. The study area should cover 10 km radius of the proposed project site, which includes the entire Silent Valley National Park and its buffer zone, to understand the real impacts. 3. The role of the KSPCB Chairman is just an agency entrusted by the MoEF to conduct the Public Hearing and to document the opinions of different sections of the public and to submit the same to the MoEF. In the case of the Pathrakkadavu PH the chairman was evidently acting as an agent of the KSEB, not giving space to the people who had come to express their concerns about the various impacts of the project including people living downstream of Kunti River. Moreover, given the international value of the Silent Valley National Park and Kunti River, the issue cannot be oversimplified to a panchayath level impact. There were even people from Mannarkkad area who wanted to present their grievances on the High Tension power lines that would cause displacement. They have been conveniently omitted from the resettlement list in the REIA! Moreover this is not the first time that the Chairman and the KSPCB is behaving like an Agent of the project proponents at Public Hearings. It maybe kindly brought to your notice sir, that Public Hearing is the only venue in our democratic set up, when people get a chance to express their views on the project. Denying them this only chance knowingly amounts to criminal offence. We demand immediate stringent disciplinary action against the Chairman, KSPCB the agency entrusted with carrying out Public Hearings in Kerala by the MoEF. 4. Moreover, in any electricity generation project the financial viability of the project is a major criterion. It has a direct bearing on the tariff hence the people all over the state have a say in it. It should be assessed whether this is the best option available under the present electricity scenario of the State. In the case of Patharkkadavu HEP no options assessment has been carried out. According to the EIA manual of the MoEF options assessment should be a part of any EIA. Meanwhile a mere three percent reduction in the T&D loss will provide electricity equivalent to the projected generation of 183 MU from Proposed Pathrakkadavu HEP. We demand immediate action to reduce the T&D losses and reduce the financial burden on the people of Kerala. Hence the people of Kerala cannot afford any more power projects until T&D loss reduction materializes. 5. All the rivers of Kerala are on the brink of extinction. Heavy deforestation of river catchments starting from dams and related interventions, plantations and encroachments has severely fragmented the river course and reduced the streamflow. The plight of Bharathapuzha, the largest river basin is itself very pathetic. "The 89 sq.km. Silent Valley forests are the only plateau part of the entire catchment. Because this still remains under evergreen forest cover, Kunthi has some lean season water flow, the only live tributary in the entire river basin. Excluding Silent Valley, within the 400 odd sq.km. of forest land, there is no compact patch of evergreen forest covering even 10 sq.km. In other words, within the 6186 sq.km. basin with a hill area upper catchment extending over about 1500 sq.km., there is only less than 100 sq.km. of live catchment regulating run off into the river. Even of this 100 sq.km. more than 70 sq.km. falls within Silent Valley. Hence Bharatha Puzha as a river is dead". To sustain the regional climate and river flow, to meet the increasingly severe water scarcity and to sustain the variety of natural resource based livelihoods, Kerala Western Ghats cannot simply afford to lose anymore forests. The people of this tiny state demand rejection of any such project that will cause loss of forest. Send your personal letters to the following addresses by post. To Sri Pradipto Ghosh The Secretary, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Paryavaran Bhavan, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110021 Copy to: 1. Sri. A.K Antony Chief Minster of Kerala Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram-1 2.Sri. Paul Thachil, Chairman, Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Pattom.P.O. Thiruvananthapuram-4 Please circulate this letter at all possible venues. Also send a copy of your letter your in this address The Director, Legal Cell, One Earth One Life, Irumbakachola Kanjirapuzha - 678591 Palakkad dist. |
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| << June12, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]New forms of harassment for Father Cedric Prakash |
June14, 2004 - [India Thinkers Net]BJP rules out Modi's ouster >> |
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