Environment ministry to clear controversial Demwe hydroelectric project

Wildlife board in its report had pointed that the project will affect ecology in the area

Despite majority of the members of National Board of Wildlife (NBWL) rejecting the clearance for the Demwe Lower Hydro Electric Project in Arunachal Pradesh, environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan has kept its fate hanging in balance. In its meeting on December 13, the non-official members of the standing committee argued, on the basis of a site inspection report prepared by one of the committee's members Asad Rahmani, that the project if allowed will have devastating impact on the wildlife. The minister, however, said she will take a final call on the project.

The minutes of the meeting that were made public on January 27 quoted her saying the project “area was of strategic importance, and already a sizable investment of scientific, technical and financial inputs had gone into the project” and that “the matter could not be delayed further”. The following media reports said the minister might soon clear the project.

Points of contention

Report says that the submergence from the project will almost touch the border of the Kamlang sanctuary (only 50 metres away) although areas within 10-km radius of protected areas are to be considered ecologically-sensitive
The project is also in extreme proximity of a cultural heritage site, Parasuram Kund, and will submerge parts of the Parshuram Kund Medicinal Plant Conservation Area identified for the conservation of Globally Significant Medicinal Plants by the environment ministry
The project will cause serious fragmentation of the aquatic habitat in the Lohit river due to the breakage of longitudinal connectivity of the river
No migration of fish such as the Golden Mahseer would be able to take place in the uplands as Lower Demwe is located just before river enters the plains
The daily fluctuation of water level in Lohit river due to Demwe Lower dam will result in total habitat modification in grasslands of Dibru Saikhowa National Park and the chapories (riverine islands) of Lohit river. Both the areas are identified as Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife International and are the remaining limited habitats of the critically endangered Bengal Florican
There is a resident population of dolphins in Dibru-Saikhowa. The project would have an impact on nutrients and other aquatic life in the river during monsoons and thus affect the distribution and migration of dolphins
A good population of the Asiatic Wild Buffalo and the Hog Deer is present in Dibru-Saikhowa national park and the riverine tracts and islands of the Lohit. After the commissioning of the project, the downstream flow of water will rise as high as 1,729 cusecs for every day in winter for a few hours. This will impact foraging grounds of these species.