Kalyan Barooah
NEW DELHI, May 10 – Chinese threat of diverting Brahmaputra river may loom large but New Delhi may not press the panic button just yet, as concerned government agencies including the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) have reported that hydro-electric projects up stream are run-of-the-river projects.
A meeting of the Committee of Secretaries (CoS), headed by Cabinet Secretary reviewed the various issues concerning China’s bid to divert Brahmaputra River and the possible threat to India. The meeting held on April 26, was attended by top officials of Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR), Ministry of Power (MoP), Planning Commission, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), besides Chief Secretary of Assam, Naba Kumar Das and officials of Arunachal Pradesh and representatives of the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO).
According to reports, Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) submitted that ongoing Chinese activity on the Brahmaputra may not have any significant impact on the river water downstream in India. According to available information, the Chinese are constructing hydro electric projects at Zangmu.
Representatives of the Department of Space (DoS) and NTRO also stated that run-of-the-river hydro electric projects undertaken by the Chinese should not be a cause of concern for India. However, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reportedly submitted that although it agrees that only run-of-the-river type projects are being taken up by China, it is not fully convinced that these are not a cause of concern for India.
The MEA has been asked to firm up its views by end of the month, when the situation would be further reviewed. Informal discussions may be held expeditiously between the Ministries of Power, Water Resources and External Affairs to discuss the issue of construction of multipurpose projects in Arunachal Pradesh and resultant issues of rehabilitation.
Meanwhile, the meeting also touched on the issues concerning the construction of hydro power projects on Subansiri river. It was decided that the Committee constituted to study issues relating to floods in the downstream of Subansiri River would complete its job in six months following a request by Chief Secretary of Assam to expedite the matter.
A Committee was constituted on April 19, to study issues relating to floods in the downstream of Subansiri, consisting of representative from National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) and Assam Government in the wake of the hue-and-cry over the Project.
The Cabinet Secretary further asked the independent Technical Team, set up by the Planning Commission in January, to expedite its report. The Technical Team comprising international experts has been tasked to study safety and stability of all dams, which are proposed to be constructed or under construction in Arunachal Pradesh, including Subansiri Project.
The Ministry of Power (MoP) may expedite its decision on the request of Assam Government for additional allocation of power from Subansiri HEP; The meeting also took note that Planning Commission has constituted a four-member team, which would accord necessary permission for converting any identified project with storage capacity to run of the river type, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Power has been asked to expedite its decision on Assam Government’s request for additional allocation of power from Subansiri Hydroelectric Power Project.
The Principal Secretary (Power), Arunachal Pradesh called for the removal of bottlenecks faced by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and the Central Water Commission (CWC) in examining projects to ensure that unexplored hydro-power potential of the State is fully exploited.
Pointing out that first rightover the Brahmaputra river needs to be established, the official raised the issues of road connectivity and inadequate transmissioncapacity, which he stated were severely weakening the progress of HEPs in the State.
Arunachal Pradesh seems to have softened its stand on multi-purpose projects, dropping its insistence on only run-of-river schemes within its territory.
The state has expressed its willingness to allow run-of-the-river projects, which it has been opposing so far. It is now arguing that since preparation of a DPR takes considerable time and investment of funds, projects,where storage provision is envisaged should be identified immediately and the list may be shared with the State Government.
Assam Government has been advocating hydropower projects with provisions of flood moderation, as opposed to run of the river projects.
