The opposition political parties in Sikkim has expressed their “strong-disapproval” over recent reports of approval by the expert panel under Environment Ministry for the proposed reconstruction of Teesta-III Hydel Project.
Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC), under Union Environment Ministry, had reportedly approved, with conditions, the reconstruction of Sikkim’s biggest hydel power project, the 1,200 MW Teesta Hydroelctric Project Stage-III in Mangan District.
The dam was washed away by the devastating Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) in river Teesta on October 2023.
As per media reports, the expert panel on environment approved the project proposal on January 10 under “expansion or modernisation” in condition that necessary approvals from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA)/Central Water Commission (CWC) or any other concerned agencies shall be obtained by the project developers before resuming the reconstruction.
Commissioned in 2017, after years of delay, the dam was in operation till October 3, 2023, when overtopping of flash flood water from the South Lhonak Glacial lake washed away the dam.
The developers of the dam, the Sikkim Urja Limited has reportedly proposed to build a new 118.66-m-tall concrete gravity dam in place of 60-m-tall rockfill concrete faced dam, the one washed away by river Teesta in 2023.
In a report published in The Indian Express, Sikkim Urja Ltd. has also proposed to nearly triple dam’s spillway capacity by enhancing it from from 7,000 cumec (cubic meter per second) to 19,946 cumec accounting for “worst-case” scenario of probable floods or any GLOF like events in future.
The panel has reportedly asked the project developers to deploy early warning systems in the upper catchment areas of river Teesta so that the gates of the dam can be opened timely in case of floods.
The Hindu, on January 27, reported that the cost of reconstruction was estimated at
Rs.4,189 crore while the original cost, when the project was commissioned, stands at Rs.13,965 crore.
Since, most the the electro-mechanical equipments in the dam site were reportedly intact, it was reported that restoration of other components excluding the dam could be achieved within a year.
The “hasty” approval by the ministry however, has raised many eyebrows with many questioning the construction of such large scale infrastructure projects in earthquake, landslide and climate-change-induced disaster prone region.
In a joint press release issued by BJP-Sikkim Spokesperson, Passang Sherpa, and Media Incharge, Niren Bhandari, on Tuesday, the duo expressed “strong opposition” to Ministry’s “reckless approval” of the project.
“This approval not only disregards Sikkim’s fragile Himalayan ecosystem but also raises serious concerns about the safety of it’s people, given the catastrophic events of October 2023”, read the press release.
The duo, through their press release, demanded an “immediate withdrawal of project clearance”, “fresh environmental impact assessment”, “new public hearing” and “adherence to Sikkim’s constitutional safeguards”.
“Sikkim’s development must never come at the cost of it’s people’s safety or its fragile environment”, they added.
In a press conference held at Gangtok on Wednesday, regional political party, the Citizen Action Party-Sikkim too expressed serious objection on the matter questioning the state government over it’s “silence” on the matter.
“We do not object the reconstruction of the dam but due process should be followed and public hearing be conducted”, said CAP-Sikkim spokesperson Mahesh Rai.
“Rehabilitation and compensation should be prioritized first, than the dam can be reconstructed”, he said.
Questioning the “hastiness” over the reconstruction of the project, CAP-Sikkim spokesperson alleged that the government and concerned parties with “vested interest” were behind the proposed reconstruction without public approval.
Serious concerns over the lack of public hearing on the proposed reconstruction of the dam prior to it’s approval has also been flagged by the opposition.
It was reported that, since, no-new land acquisition or the displacement was involved, fresh public hearing was not required. The last public hearing was conducted in 2006.
“The reliance on a public hearing from 2006-a period that predates both the climate crisis and the October 2023 disaster – disregards the current realities and risks faces by our state”, read the joint press release by BJP-Sikkim functionaries.
“This blatant oversight is unacceptable”, they added which was echoed by Citizen Action Party-Sikkim on Wednesday’s press conference.
Meanwhile, no official statement has been issued by the ruling front Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) on the matter.
