MoEF damns project on Kalu

In what might come as a relief to all the villagers battling against the Kalu river dam project, a Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) report has recommended the stopping of “all construction activities” related to the project till all legal formalities, and forest, wildlife and environment related studies are completed, so that an informed decision can be taken.

As reported first by DNA, the Kalu dam project will submerge over 2,100 hectares of land, including around 1,000 hectares of dense forests that fall in the ecologically sensitive Western Ghats area, and also the Kalsubai Wildlife sanctuary. Nearly 150,000 trees would be axed and around 18,000 people would be displaced due to the proposed dam, whose cost is pegged at around Rs863 crore.

Villagers and activists, who have locked horns with the state government over the project, are pursuing a case over the illegal dam in the Bombay High Court, which last month had asked the MoEF to take a final call in the matter.

Subsequently, MoEF’s Chief Conservator of Forests (Central) JK Tewari, inspected the project site in the third week of January 2012 and submitted a report to the MoEF in the second week of February. He recommended stopping all construction activities on the Kalu river dam. 

His report, accessed by DNA, says, “ … the state government (Maharashtra government) may be directed to stop all construction related activities till all the legal formalities and forest, wildlife and environmental related studies are completed and a well considered decision regarding forest diversion is taken based on proper scientific documentation and studies.”

Noting that work on the project started even before a clearance from MoEF was sought, Tewari in his report stated that the project proponent “had no respect for law of the land and getting permission from MoEF was taken for granted.”

He also noted that Social Impact Analysis (SIA) of the project has not been conducted till date, which is required as per provisions of National Rehabilitation Policy of 2007.

The MoEF official also highlighted in his note that the area, for which clearance is sought, falls under the sensitive Western Ghats region.

“A large number of dams have already been constructed in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and reservoirs have been proposed in almost all the remaining important water courses. So far no EIA, EMP has been conducted in this regard. Therefore, it is essential that the regional EIA for cumulative impact of all existing resources is conducted for MMR, and for any new project, EIA is conducted for incremental pollution issues,” said Tewari in his report.

His report added, “Considering the richness of wildlife, a detailed study of flora and fauna should be urgently conducted and an informed appropriate decision taken.”

His report also questioned the estimate of the number of tress which would be axed for the project. He pointed out that even though it is mentioned that 148,229 trees would be felled, “it [the estimate] appears to be on the lower side”. He added, “It requires rechecking by the forest department. Another important point is that trees growing on private land and waste land have not been accounted for.”

Indavi Tulpule of Shramik Mukti Sangathan (SMS), which is spearheading the movement against the Kalu dam, said that Tewari’s report should be accepted and the project should be scrapped.

“MoEF should accept the recommendations in Mr Tewari’s report and should direct the Maharasthra government to immediately stop work on Kalu river dam, which is being built illegally. It should also seek penal action against those responsible for taking the law of land for granted,” said Tulpule.

DNA tried to contact MoEF officials to find out if they have taken a final call in the matter but they were unavailable for comment.