How Many.....???? Just How many?????

Click to see all the no of projects sanctioned in Sikkim!!

hey.

i dunno wat the entire deal with the EIA and stuff is...the only thing i fear about is this matter taking a political turn and parties taking this as an opportunity to develop their respective vote banks...u know how politicians can make a big deal out of trivial matters...however, a disclaimer, i am also not saying that the issue at hand here is trivial..

aparajita rai, wbnujs, kolkata

KANCHAHAPPY said...

hey....how is the common man going to benefit?......the people whose lands are taken away and the rest of us will still have to buy electricity [pay our bills]...will any of the profit the hydro-power companies and the power dept. make...from selling the electricity ever be channelised to secure education,health ,employment,housing etc. for the displaced people?? none of it will come back to them.if taking away land from the people for the 'development' of sikkim is the solution...then by this theory...the agriculture department should take away all the farmlands of the farmers...the education department should take away the ownership of all the private scools...tourism dept. should take away all the businesses that thrive on tourism...

ALL FOR THE 'DEVELOPMENT' OF SIKKIM....

KANCHAHAPPY, USA

25 June, 2007 1:34 PM

WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN TEETA V?.......read it and find out for yourself......

What has happened in Teesta V?

The work on the Head Race Tunnel (HRT) and the associated ‘adits’ at five places along the tunnel length have already caused serious problems. Complaints of cracking houses, drying up of water resources and landslides have come from local people living above the tunneling area.

In May 2004, a few buildings along the main road at Amdara developed deep cracks following a land slide induced by the blasting at the project site. The villagers of Amdara, started moving out of their damaged homes. The villagers pointed out that the problem had begun three years ago. The problem was never redressed and no compensation was paid.

The tunneling also makes necessary the removal of huge quantities of muck and rock debris. Although there are sites demarcated for muck disposal in the Environment Management Plan of the project, large quantities of muck have been dumped directly into the river, constricting the river flow and increasing the threat to downstream areas or in nearby reserved forest areas. In May 2004, the bridge across the river connecting the Lepcha village of Lum with Dikchu and Singtam collapsed. This was due to the muck which was being dumped from the left bank which had already encroached a significant portion of the river and the river was being forced through a constricted passage. In such a situation the river may have scoured the right bank where the concrete pillar supporting the bridge was lodged. It also seemed that some of the muck might have been dumped directly on the bridge. A day after the collapse, some people from Lum crossed the river using ropes and stormed into the NHPC office at the project site.

The project site has suffered setbacks due to the surge shaft and tunnel collapses since the project started. During the investigation of the surge shaft collapse, a resident of Khamdong bazaar told a news reporter that NHPC had callously felled all trees in and around the area loosening the soil. He added that the walls of the Lower Khamdong Primary school had developed huge cracks as it was just near the fencing of the shaft. The report on the causes of the surge shaft collapse by the State department of Mines and Geology states “Lower Khamdong Primary School area where the failed shaft is today is a small spur with a history of stability as indicated by the geomorphology, soils and orientation of the in-situ rocks, especially below the Singtam-Dikchu road level. The effected spot is subjected to massive excavation (road building, shaft construction), vibrations (dynamite blasts, heavy vehicular movement, earthquakes) and development of stress relief features, negligence and untimely rectification of these adverse features…”

Water and Power Consultancy Services, New Delhi study, identified, that the project will bring along with it a large number of outsiders and this will have an irreversible impact on the Lepcha and Bhutia communities residing in the area. The report raised fears that besides the direct impact of loss of their lands, the influx of large number of laborers may affect the culture and way of life of the community, may cause “a sense of deprivation and loss of ethnic identity”, result in “dilution of their social customs and practices” and may affect the availability of labour for work on their remaining fields. The presence of a large number of people in an area which was earlier sparsely populated may also result in health problems and outbreak of diseases including those that may not have occurred in the past within the community.
The management of movement and activities of the interstate migrant laborers was handed over to the district collectors whereas this is a specialized job requiring continuous data keeping and monitoring, for which the Labor Department is actually equipped. This change in the policy has had an irreparable damage on the demography of the state as the Offices of the DC failed to carry out any proper work on this and such a result the state has to bear the burden of thousand of extra population in a small state.

One of the conditions under which the project was granted environmental clearance is that “All the labourers to be engaged for construction works should be thoroughly examined by health personnel and adequately treated before issuing them work permit.” However, the situation regarding the health impacts of the project leads one to believe that this condition is not being complied with. The Targeted Intervention (TI) programme under the Sikkim State Aids Control Society has already undertaken AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) awareness programmes in the entire project site through a few local NGOs. The programme identifies migrant workers like those who are employed by the Teesta V project as a vulnerable group. There is reason to believe that the number of persons with STDs has gone up tremendously after the project started. The highest number of STD cases are reported from East district in 2003 (96 from East, 3 from South, 18 from West and 0 from North). During the year 2003, the 178 patients accessed the services of the Drop- in Centre run by the Dikchu Youth Welfare Association that works on Aids and STD awareness near the project site. Of these 64 patients were suffering from STDs (36%).

The project received forest clearance from the Govt of Sikkim in May 1999. Since early 2001 the Department of Forests, Environment and Wildlife (DFEW) started detecting violations. They identified that NHPC had been dumping huge quantities of excavated muck and debris into the river, on the river banks and surrounding Reserved Forests. These are a violation of state forest laws and it poses grave environmental and social risks in the downstream areas, particularly due to narrowing of the river course. In 2002, the Teesta waters washed away a temporary bridge and a huge quantity of muck from the powerhouse site. Other violations detected by the state government include setting up labour colonies and project activity sites illegally on forest land, land set aside for muck disposal as per the Environment Management Plan (EMP) being used for setting up other project components, untreated sewage being released straight into the river.

The Expert Committee on River Valley Projects of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in its meeting held on 11.1 99 sought that detailed studies on ethnography and biodiversity are needed to understand the impacts of the proposed project on biodiversity and local communities of Sikkim before granting clearance to the project. Prior to this, the Environmental Impact Assessment report was examined and found to be inadequate on these aspects.

Following this, the ethnographic study was awarded to the Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS). As desired by MOEF, the biodiversity study was entrusted to Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. However, the issue regarding environmental clearance was discussed between Secretary (Ministry of Power) and Additional Secretary (MOEF) wherein it was felt that the environmental clearance of the project need not be held up till completion of the ethnographic and biodiversity studies. The project was granted environmental clearance before these studies were completed. In effect, biodiversity and ethnographic concerns were not considered in the process of clearance of the project.

The expert committee also stated that the project should be cleared only after a carrying capacity study of river Teesta is done. However this was not agreed to by the project proponents. As a result Teesta V was delinked from the carrying capacity study and considered for clearance. One of the conditions of clearance was that no new projects would be allowed on river Teesta in Sikkim until such a study is done.

What has happened to that study? Has it been made public?

Source: A brief note on ‘Hydro power projects in Sikkim: Issues of concern’, prepared by Manju Menon and Neeraj Vagholikar of Kalpavriksh, Pune.

Souparna Lahiri
143 Khirki Village
New Delhi - 110 017
Mobile: 91 9818147740
Tel (R) No. 91 11 29541502

LIST OF DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED BY ACT TO THE GOVERNMENT TODAY I.E 25th JUNE, 2007 AND DEMANDING THAT THEY BE FURNISHED TO THEM BY THE 29th of JUNE, 2007

Sir,
We require the under mentioned documents for the talk, hence, we earnestly request you to graciously grant the certified copies of them.


1. Certified copy of the Collector’s Report submitted to the State Government under provision of Land Acquisition(Companies) Rules 1963, relating to Panan Hydro Project in Dzongu, North Sikkim.

2. Certified copy of the order/direction/authorization of the State Government issued to the Collector under the provisions of Section 3 of Land Acquisition Act, 1894, relating to Panan Hydro Project in Dzongu.

3. A copy of the appointment order by the Controller & Auditor General of India appointing the Auditor(s) of the Sikkim Power Development Corporation, if it is a Government company.

4. A copy of the State Government’s Annual reports with the Controller & Auditor General’s comments relating relating to the Sikkim Power Development Corporation for the years 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 laid before the Sikkim Assembly, if it is a Government Company.

5. A copy of the Statute establishing the Sikkim Power Development Corporation, if it a corporation owned and controlled by the Government.

6. A certified copy of the Catchment Area Treatment Plan prepared by the Forest, Wildlife and Environment Management Department of Government of Sikkim and approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, and the amount of cost of scheme provided by M/S Himagiri Pvt Ltd as per Article 4.6 of the Agreement signed on 05/12/2005 between the Energy and Power Department, Government of Sikkim and M/S Himgiri Hydro Energy Pvt Ltd.

7. A certified copy of Environmental Impact Assessment(EIA) studies report prepared in full consultation with the Forest, Environment & Wildlife Management Department, Government of Sikkim, as per Articles 4.8 of the Agreement signed on 05/12/2005 between Energy and Power Department, Government of Sikkim and M/S Himagiri Hydro Energy Pvt Ltd.

8. A copy of the permit issued to M/S Himagiri Pvt Ltd or Agents to enter Khangchendzonga National Park(KNP) by the Chief Wildlife Warden, Government of Sikkim, for survey and studies.

9. A copy of the Clearance Letter/Permit given to M/S Himagiri Pvt Ltd to execute the Catchment Area Treatment Plan in the Khangchendzonga National Park and Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve.

10. A copy of the letter of the Government of Sikkim appointing, ”AGENT”, as per Article 1.2.2 of the Agreement dated 5th December, 2005.

11. As per Article 1.2.5 of the Agreement dated 5th December, 2005, if Sikkim Power Development Corporation is a company registered/incorporated under any law a copy of its Certificate of Incorporation/Registration be issued to us.

12. We would like to take up the Discussion of the documents submitted herein below, first, thereafter, the other related matters.

Thank you.

Yours Faithfully,
(Signed)-

Athup Lepcha

jigme said...

So this is what it boils down to finally, doesn’t it: Governments muscling through the feelings of the people- who they ostensibly pledge to serve. The lofty purposes they seek to accomplish sanction their ignoring the babel of voices that rise against them.Lepchas have much at stake here. The Community has long been under depredation from the crass opportunism that thrives in the world today. This protest by the peace loving Lepchas is not only a social awakening of an otherwise laidback community but one can also see in it shades of universalism. Universalism, because it finds echoes in what is happening in Nandigram, Singur and numerous places around the world. A common man taking on the might of the powerful Government looks like a plausible rerun of the David and Goliath fable with a reverse ending. Except that David in this case is not just a single entity; all of us together comprise the modern day David. Let us pledge our support to the cause of our Lepcha brothers with the knowledge that in their struggle lies ours too.

DAY 6.................MONDAY, THE 25th of JUNE

DAY 6

The indefinite hunger strike by members of ACT and Satyagrahis led by Dawa Lepcha has entered its sixth day. More and more wellwishers are coming in to the site to express solidarity and support. Lamas continue with the NESOL PUJA to appease all Sikkimese deities and pray for the general well being of the Sikkimese People and also the Satyagrahis on hunger strike.

The Talks between the members of ACT and the government held today at Tashiling was inconclusive.

A list of 12 documents/questions have been put to the government to be furnished by ACT by the 29th of June.It is to be certified too.

However, ACT members led by Dawa Lepcha continue and reiterate their indefinite hunger strike till their demands are met.

The health of the satyagrahis on strike is doing fine. Three members from Dzongu who had joined the indefinite hunger strike yesterday will continue till tomorrow 12 p.m. Dawa and Tshering will continue indefintely going on to the 7th day hungry ...............and not refusing to budge till their demands are met.

Tia said...

Does anyone really believe the 7 dams planned for Dzongu may actually benefit the Lepchas. As for the mirage of prosperity, if it happens it will only benefit the politicians and officials. The common man will gain nothing. This protest is not just any other anti dam protest. It is about fighting to save an entire people from extinction. I plead with all to please come together and support this cause in whatever way they can although I must add that the apathy and fear shown by Gangtokians and especially the Lepchas living in Gangtok is very disheartening.