Yielding to former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharati?s representation that the 330 mw Srinagar Hydrolectric Power project in Uttarakhand would result in submergence of the Dhari Devi temple in the valley, the environment ministry has asked the Alaknanda Hydro Power Company to stop construction work at the site.
?The ministry is reviewing the matter, including compliance to the environmental clearance issued to the project… No further construction work other than safety and electricity works up to 200 mw should be undertaken on the project site,? said an environment ministry order.
Bharti has been sitting on a fast since May 9 and in a letter to Ramesh, dated May 30, demanded that the temple should be saved at any cost besides stopping all work on the project. She also demanded a law to protect the Ganga, which has already been declared a national river, and a committee to review all hydel projects on it.
This is not the first time that a hydel project has been shelved after protests. Last year, NTPC?s 600 mw Loharinag Pala hydel project on the Bhagirathi river near Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand was scrapped after religious sentiments and activists clamoured about environmental damage. After this, the ministry also scrapped two other projects- 381 mw Bhaironghati and 480 mw Pala Maneri projects on Bhagirathi. Moreover, the government had also declared the 135-km stretch between Gomukh and Uttarkashi on the river Bhagirathi as an eco-sensitive zone.
With the stop-work order, the ministry has also decided to conduct site inspection and officials will submit a report to Ramesh by June 21 to take a final call.