No hydel power project in the State has generated so much heat and dust as the 163-MW Athirappilly project, proposed to be implemented across the Chalakudy river. There have been many instances when the project seemed to be well on course for execution, but each time, the State’s power policy planners and administrators had to back out owing to opposition from greens and the local community.
The project is now once again in the limelight, this time triggered by seemingly conflicting statements made by Minister for Electricity M.M. Mani in the State Assembly. While the Minister was supportive of a consensus on the project when replying to questions on the floor of the House, his written answer to another set of questions gave the opposite impression. The reply, in effect, seemed to suggest that the government was going ahead with land acquisition for the project, though no policy decision on whether to implement it had been taken.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan added to the debate stating at a public meeting that the State needs development and the government would go ahead brushing aside the arguments of ‘anti-developmentalists’.
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He did not mention Athirappilly, but in the context in which his statement came, the meaning was loud and clear.
He seemed to say that, given the opportunity, his government would rather go ahead with the project than tarry for fear of angering green activists who have been campaigning against the project based on figures that show that the water level in the Chalakudy river does not justify the need for a dam to generate power.
The green activists’ answer to what they see as clandestine moves from the power-at-any-cost lobby is simple. A. Latha of the Chalakudy Puzha Samrakshana Samiti, a group that has been campaigning against the power project for years now, puts it most effectively: “All that we want the State government to do is to honour the promise in the Left Democratic Front manifesto to take steps to protect rivers and improve their water flow.
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The Haritha Keralam Mission, as envisioned in the LDF's manifesto, is all about reviving rivers and not constructing dams, she points out.
KSEB stance
Interestingly, though occupying the other side of the divide and charged with the responsibility of executing the project, KSEB Ltd. (formerly Kerala State Electricity Board) is groping in the dark with no clear directives from the government even as a debate rages in the State over the proposal.
It is actually now or not in the near future for the project as the environmental clearance accorded for the power project would expire in another 150 days. If the extended environmental clearance for the project becomes invalid in July, the State government and the KSEB will have to begin what could be a tedious process to get it cleared anew.
It took the KSEB nearly a decade’s effort to get the project cleared, after overcoming opposition from environmentalists and protracted legal battles.
The KSEB’s dilemma is that it should initiate some work on the ground before the environmental clearance becomes invalid, failing which the project would be deemed a non-starter.
The KSEB cannot afford to allow such a situation, as it would have to undertake another laborious exercise to get the project cleared a second time. Says K. Elangovan, chairman, KSEB: “We have not received any instruction from the government till date regarding the project.
“As the implementing agency for power projects, we can come into the picture only when a government order is issued for the purpose. The Power Department and the government need to take a call first.”
Parties rally against it
Although it might be true that the government has not made any substantive move to launch the project work, a large number of green activists and a spectrum of political parties, especially the CPI, the second largest constituent of the ruling alliance, the Congress and the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP), have used the occasion to reiterate their strong opposition to the project. Currently, social media is abuzz with campaigns in favour of and against the project. Some have also highlighted the recommendations of the Madhav Gadgil-led Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) to drive home their arguments against the project.
Resolution
‘Oorukoottam’, the tribal panchayat of the Athirappilly area, had earlier passed a resolution against the project and has once again resolved to oppose it.
A writ petition is pending against the project in the Kerala High Court and it may not be an easy task to overcome these challenges in the limited time to take the project forward.
Of late, the KSEB has not initiated any step to implement the project and the permission for cutting the trees in the project area was obtained much earlier, says a KSEB director, on condition of anonymity.
Signs of a harsh summer and the falling water level in the State’s hydel reservoirs are being cited to buttress their arguments.
While the KSEB and those who support the project’s implementation cite Athirappilly as the best option given the low cost of hydel power, the green activists are citing the failure of the existing hydel reservoirs to ensure power security for the State to raise the question whether one more dam, which would fundamentally alter life in the Chalakudy river basin, would fare any better in terms of providing additional power. At the core of the debate is one word: sustainability, whether you wish to look at it as a question of energy security or as one of sustainability of the environment.
“We have not received any instruction from the government till date regarding the project.
The Power Department and the government need to take a call first.” K. Elangovan, chairman, KSEB