Friday, August 14, 2009

Cong questions Sikkim govt seeking clearance for hydel project

Gangtok , Aug 14: The Congress today questioned the persistence of Pawan Kumar Chamling government to seek environment clearance for six hydel projects withheld by the Centre citing potential damage to ecology in the upstream of the Chungthang valley in North Sikkim.
"It appears that the Chamling government has yielded to pressure by developers to seek intervention of the Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for grant of environment clearance by the Ministry of Forests and Environment for the projects which were considered to be unviable, Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary K N Lepcha alleged here.

Lepcha criticized the state government for envisaging hydropower projects in North Sikkim and going ahead with the award of contracts without taking into account the potential damage to the fragile landcape of the region.

The Ministry of Forests and Environment, acting on the the Centre for Inter-disciplinary studies for Mountains and Hill Environment (CISME) report, had directed the state government two months ago to defer indefinitely construction activities for six hydel projects in upstream of Chungthang valley.
PTI