The 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri Hydro Electric Project, being developed by state-owned NHPC Ltd, has once again hit a roadblock. An expert committee of Assam government, which studied the impact and viability of the project, has expressed reservations over the project. The committee has expressed its displeasure for mega hydro projects in the region.
A regional television channel, which has claimed to be in possession of a copy of the report, said that the committee had recommended “review” of the design of the project as the present design was not only faulty but would damage the ecology and downstream areas.
The committee found that the project area is vulnerable to high seismic activities. The project is vulnerable to landslides and high sedimentation due to the topography of the area. Collapse of the project due to any such natural calamity would amount to untold misery for downstream areas in Assam.
The project, the committee found, will cause damage to the serene ecology of the area and will pose a serious threat to the riverine dolphins due to its design.
It also increases the chances of flash floods by many times for downstream areas in Assam.
The Rs 6,400-crore Lower Subansiri Project is situated in Gerukamukh in Assam-Arunachal border and is one of the mega projects being developed in the country.
Once completed, it is expected to end power shortages for the North-Eastern Region, besides supplying power to other power starved regions of India.
However, the project has been under severe attack from various civil organisations and environmentalists for long. They say that the project had been conceived without properly assessing its impact, thus demanding stoppage of works.
Assam’s power minister Pradyut Bordoloi too had expressed concerns over the construction of mega dams in Arunachal Pradesh.
