Slow decision making on the part of the Uttarakhand government has delayed the process of notifying the 135-km stretch between Gomukh and Uttarkashi on the river Bhagirathi as an eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
The stretch was declared an eco-sensitive zone under the Environment Protection Act in November last year when a group of ministers (GoM) comprising environment minister Jairam Ramesh, power minister Sushilkumar Shinde and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had decided against any development projects in the zone.
The zone was declared a no-development area by the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), which was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
However, even after six months, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has not received any response from the state government on the issue.
?I have still not received any response from the state government to that letter (dated December 29, 2010) and to subsequent communications sent by my colleagues,? said a letter written by Ramesh to Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
The letter dated March 23, 2011 refers to the first letter that Ramesh had written on December 29, 2010 asking for details like boundaries of the proposed zone including latitudes and longitudes, map of the proposed ESZ and list of the villages in the zone.
?The state government is not notifying it and taking some time. There could be certain categories which they want to be included and on which discussions maybe required,? said an MoEF official.
In fact, Pokhriyal had asked the Centre to compensate Uttarakhand with 2,000 mw free power.
Interestingly, this decision was taken when the ministry, faced with a wave of religious sentiment, had to reverse its position on NTPC?s 600 mw Loharinag Pala hydel project besides discontinuing with the 381-mw Bhaironghati and 480-Mw Pala Maneri projects on Bhagirathi.
Also, a technical committee was to be set up to recommend dismantling and safeguard measures to protect the eco-geological balance of the area.