*Uproarious scenes at hearing on Athirappilly hydel project * ** Staff Reporter
*CPI(M) MLAs in the Assembly Committee stay away from hearing * — Photo: By Special Arrangement *UP IN ARMS: CPI(M) workers trying to disrupt a hearing on the proposed Athirappilly hydro-electric project held at Athirappilly on Wednesday. * Athirappilly (Thrissur dist): A hearing on the 163 MW Athirappilly hydroelectric project by the Assembly Committee on Environment held at the Panchayat Hall here on Wednesday witnessed uproarious scenes. When the hearing began, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers shouted slogans against groups that opposed the hydel project. The committee recorded the opinions of a few people and obtained information on environmental impact of the project. The hearing was stopped later following slogan-shouting and counter slogan-shouting between CPI(M) workers and anti-dam activists. Rajaji Mathew Thomas, chairman of the committee, and members M.V. Shreyams Kumar, V. D. Satheesan and Roshy Augustine, MLAs, took part. CPI(M) MLAs in the committee B.D. Devassy, M. Hamsa, K.V. Abdul Khader and A.M. Yusuf stayed off the hearing. Anti-dam groups alleged that the four MLAs held a secret meeting at Chalakudy and decided not to participate in the hearing. T.U. Kuruvila, a member of the committee, too did not attend the hearing. The proposed Athirappilly hydel project is the seventh dam to be built across the 145.5-km Chalakudy river, the fifth largest in the State. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) cleared the project on July 18, 2007, triggering protests by environmentalists. In 1998, the Ministry had cleared the project without the mandatory public hearing. The Kerala High Court, on October 17, 2001, directed the Kerala State Electricity Board and the MoEF to fulfil procedures for environmental clearance, including a public hearing. A public hearing was held at the Thrissur Town Hall on February 6, 2002. The project was again cleared by the MoEF on February 10, 2005, on the basis of a report by Water and Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited (WAPCOS). On March 23, 2006, the Kerala High Court quashed the clearance and ordered another public hearing. A public hearing held at the Gopalakrishna Auditorium, Chalakudy, on June 15, 2002, drew protests against the proposed dam. The Expert Committee on River Valley Projects, led by P.G. Sastri, visited Athirappilly on April 12, 2007. The techno-economic sanction granted by the Centre expired on March 31, 2008. Three cases filed in the Kerala High Court against the project are pending. Environmentalists contend that the proposed project has several disadvantages, including destruction of forest land that is home to rare flora and fauna; ecological problems caused by submergence of the only remaining riparian forests at such altitude in the entire Western Ghats; damage to the vital elephant corridor between the Parambikulam sanctuary and the Pooyamkutty forests and the Athirappilly waterfalls; displacement of Kadar tribesmen; depletion of irrigation and drinking water resources in 19 panchayats and two municipalities. -- Dileep R I thuravoor --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
