Unaddressed environmental impacts of Hydro projects

To address the serious environmental impacts of hydropower projects, including numerous impacts on rivers, we need credible environment and social impact assessment, followed by an environment and social management plan. The next step in environment governance of hydropower projects is a public consultation, including public hearing at the location of the project. The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for River Valley Projects in the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) is then supposed to assess the adequacy of the EIA-EMP and public consultation. Based on the recommendation of the EAC, the MoEF & CC issues letter of Environment Clearance (EC) to the project, this is conditional with up to 40-50 conditions. 

The EIA-EMP and the conditions of the EC are to be implemented during construction and operation phase of the project. To ensure compliance, the project developer is supposed to send 6-monthly compliance reports. There is also the regional office of the MoEF & CC which is supposed to visit the project to ascertain compliance.

When large number of hydropower projects are taken up in a river basin, the issue of cumulative impacts in the context of carrying capacity at river basin level also comes up.

All this sounds reassuring, but what happens on ground? Recent environment ministers like Jairam Ramesh and Prakash Javdekar have accepted that in reality, most of these steps are seriously compromised. We have yet to see what we can call an ‘honest’ EIA-EMP of a hydropower project. 

Public hearing process is fixed, as Ramesh has publicly accepted. But even if all those present at the public hearing were to say that the project is unacceptable or impact assessment is fraudulent, still the project is likely to get green signal. In fact, the rejection rate of the EAC for River Valley Projects over the last eight years is zero. The EAC members typically have serious conflict of interest and are rarely independent persons with credible environmental track record. On the issue of compliance, Javdekar publicly said that the project developer is happy to get the clearance letter, irrespective of the conditions of clearance, since they know, there is no one to check if the conditions are adhered to. Even when project does not submit compliance report for years, there are no consequences. MoEF officials say they do not have time to even read the compliance reports when submitted! And when civil society groups submit proof of violations, Ramesh said he cannot take steps since he has no way of ascertaining the reality.

One result of all this is that our rivers get destroyed by hydropower projects.