On the intervention of National Green Tribunal (NGT) a technical team of Indian School of Mines from Indian Institute of Technology Dhanbad was conducting a study near upcoming Sawra Kudu 100 mega watt power project (developed by the State power firm HPPCL) to compensate the man-made disaster of tunneling over a fertile and high yielding apple orchards in the Pabbar valley.
The convener of Project Affected Action Committee Mr. Govind Chitranta told Himvani that the outcome of this study would assist hundreds of apple orchard-its to get the sufficient compensation besides developing Catchment Area Treatment plan to mitigate adverse impact of relentlessness tunneling on the left bank of Pabar river, a tributary of Yamuna. He said that team of experts from IIT(ISM) Dhanbad were coming along with its appliances and heavy equipment to conduct impact study on soil strata, moisture content and receding of water table with tunneling of about five meter radial tunnel by the HPCCL for project likely to be commission next year.
He said that number of audits of tunnel were already discharging water out which had impacting and drying more than 39 local water sources as only three were existing with construction of underground tunnel in the region. Farmers which have been yielding high varieties of apples may render without livelihood as it would snatch their mainstay of live with degradation caused by the project. The local villagers laments that their MLA and other regional leaders of mainstream parties were supporting project firm rather to come in their rescue as they had to fight legal battle and recently got stayed the construction of project.
He said that they expect that the finding and studies of various Geological and allied sciences experts which had visited the region may give some respite to the project affected people which was earlier undermined by the state government and project firms. We hope to get justice from the study as its outcome would help them from the posing environment degradation as they are in danger of receding water tables moreover evacuation of river for the project in the tunnel likely to be impact on the environment.
Entire catchment of Pabbar valley which was providing the suitable climate to grow apple on the both banks expected to adversely impact on it after water discharge turned from river to the tunnel. He said that pabber valley has more than 1600 mw power potential however its impact on the local economy could not be ruled out as changing of course of water likely to cause major shift in the moisture level in the entire valley. HPPCL and other contractor firms seemed to be ruthless toward demands of farmers as they want to push liabilities of delay to PAP as construction cost of Rs 600 Cr project to be commission in 2012 expected to increase by 1000 Crore more with escalation of the cost, he added.
