Describing Uttarakhand as the main stakeholder in the proposed Pancheshwar multi-purpose project between India and Nepal, Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday called for a rehabilitation policy which does justice to people displaced by the mega project part of which comes under Champavat district of the state.
"Uttarakhand, which is the main stakeholder on the Indian side in Pancheshwar project, has made its stand clear in this regard. The state must get its due share of the power produced by the project. The lessons learnt from slipshod rehabilitation of people displaced by Tehri dam should be kept in mind and a rehabilitation policy be framed in such a manner that people affected by the project are suitably compensated," Rawat told reporters. With its limited resources, Uttarakhand cannot rehabilitate people displaced by the mega venture entirely on its own, he said.
Rawat expressed happiness over the importance accorded to the project during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Nepal and talks with Nepalese leadership saying it was an indication that the collaboration between the two countries in jointly tapping of the water resources in their territories will increase in the years to come. Pancheshwar project in Champavat district will submerge an area spread over 120 square kms and affect 19,700 people in 60 villages, he had said in his letter to Bharti.
