IMPHAL, August 13: Following a proposal for diversion of 1551.60 hectares of forest land under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 for construction of Tipaimukh Hydro Electric Project in Mizoram from the Addl Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (C), the Citizens Concern for Dams and Development and the Committee on the Protection of Natural Resources have submitted a memorandum against forest clearance for the proposed project in Mizoram during the FAC meet on August 13-14, 2013 to the Chairperson, Forest Advisory Committee, Director General of Forests and Special Secretary, MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forest Jude Sekhar.
The Affected People’s Association of Tipaimukh Hydro-Electric Project has also submitted a similar request to desist from according the “forest clearance” to the Chairperson.
The Citizens’ Concern for Dams and Development (CCDD) and the Committee on the Protection of Natural Resources in Manipur (CPNRM) in their request have expressed strong objection to the idea of having a separate forest clearance for the forest impacts in Mizoram side only due to the proposed construction of 1500 MW Tipaimukh Hydroelectric Multipurpose Project (THEP).
It has further emphasised that the land and the forest to be destroyed by THEP in Mizoram belongs to the Hmar Indigenous Peoples, handed over to them by their forefathers and ancestors from generations.
The forest clearance for the impacts in Manipur side had been rejected by the FAC of the MoEF in its hearing on 11-12 July 2013 due to the disproportionate and irreparable impacts of the proposed project in Manipur and also due to widespread objections of affected peoples and community organizations to Forest Clearance due to lack of adequate and detailed impact assessments, the memorandum had pointed out. “A total of approximately 14,634 trees including 11,306 trees below 60 cm girth have been stated to be affected. It has further been stated that about 40.4 lakh of Bamboo culms are also falling in the bamboo area of 1063.4 ha of bamboo forest involved in the proposed project”, it further continued.
“The reasons furnished in the recommendation for forest clearance provided by the Additional Chief Conservator of Forest (C), Government of Mizoram to Anil Kumar to the Additional Director General of Forest, FC division, MoEF on 16 January 2013 is highly misleading and undermined the impacts on the forest, wildlife and communities”, it said while adding that the statement that there is no endemic wildlife species in the area to be affected and the failure to include the list of wildlife in the reserved forest areas to be submerged and affected by THEP in Mizoram is a deliberate effort on the part of the Forest Department and the Mizoram Government to negate the impacts.
The same statement and dubious is also made by both the Forest Department of the Government of Manipur and North Eastern Electrical Power Co-operation (NEEPCO) in the forest area to be affected in Manipur side, while seek Forest Clearance (FC) for Manipur side, which completely undermined the series of studies on endemic species, flora and fauna in the Barak Riverine Ecosystem, it said.