It is completely baseless to say that the Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, and his friends in industry are out to finish off what little is left of the >Himalayas , its rivers and glaciers (“ >Killing a country’s ecology ” Comment page, April 29, 2015) . It is the BJP-led NDA government, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which has given importance to protecting the ecology of the Himalayan region. As examples, the government has already launched the ‘Ganga Mission’ which will give impetus to protecting the Himalayas. The government has also allocated Rs.150 crore for Himalayan studies. It has also launched a Himalayan initiative, wherein 11 hill States will be partners in preserving the ecological balance of the Himalayas. After the recent natural calmity in Jammu and Kashmir and lessons learnt after the disaster in Uttarakhand, the government is working closely with the States concerned in ensuring that the Himalayan ecology is protected.
The article also creates a wrong impression, as if Mr. Javadekar has given his approval to six hydro-electric projects in Uttarakhand. I wish to clarify that in the last 11 months, not a single environmental approval has been given to any hydro-electric project in the Himalayas.
In December 2014, the Ministry had sought 12 months' time from the Supreme Court to carry out a comprehensive impact assesment of river valleys in the Himalyas. Reference for six projects has come on the directions of the Supreme Court to assess the status of clearances of these projects on the date they were granted. Clearances for six hydroprojects in Uttarakhand, and which have been referred to by Mr. Gonsalves, were accorded approvals by the previous UPA government. Clearance from the National Board for Wildlife has not been granted to any of these projects. Forest clearance to one of the six projects has been revoked. All the clearances required are not available for any of these projects. Most importantly, the issue is before the Supreme Court as “sub judice”.
P.J. Michael,
Deputy Secretary (Media)
Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change,
New Delhi
