In response to
the growing opposition to large dams, the Commission on Dams (COD)
was established by the eIEN South Asia Western Himalaya Kashmir in
2005. The Commission came into existance from a variety of
backgrounds, representing a broad spectrum of interests – including
governments and non–governmental organisations, grassroots people's
movements and academicians .The world economy has reached a point
where it needed to manufacture needs and desires and raise the level
of construction activities so that the capitalist class could
continue accumulating capital; the system had reached a point where
the appetites of capitalists exceeded the demand.
Sawalkot Hydropower Project
Environmental Impact Assessment Statement yet to be disseminated
The Sawalkot Hydroelectric Power Project is located on the Chenab
River which runs into Pakistan before joining the Indus River. The
reservoir formed will be more than 20 km long with a surface area of
about 19 km 2 . The underground power station will have an installed
capacity of 600 MW and utilise an average river flow of 833 m 3/s to
yield an annual electricity production of about 4,000 GWh. The
project will be a run-of-the-river project.
Many questions pertaining to Sawalkote hydel project had remained
unanswered by either the executing or funding agencies including the
state government as well as the central government. Many eyebrows
were raised on the manner in which Environment Impact Assessment has
been submitted .
Together with Indian and Nepalese sub-consultants NORPLAN carried
out some rounds of field visits, always accompanied by security
personnel from the Indian Government due to the present security
situation in the region.
In 1999 NORPLAN carried out an adhoc environmental and social
scoping study connected to the Sawalkote Hydropower Project in
Kashmir, India. The scoping study although identified important
issues and impacts in order to optimise future use of valuable study
time and resources in a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
But how and when such work was carried out on the EIA remains a
mystery .
Major drawback found in the project for which the state government
signed a MOU at Delhi was that the Norwegian environmental
organisation in its feasibility report had admitted that the study
done by it cannot be classified as a full environment impact
assessment (EIA) but just a forerunner of EIA as the company
representatives could not visit all the project downstream areas due
to security reasons.
It was estimated that around 200 to 220 houses will be flooded and
probably over 1000 people will be displaced - the rehabilitation
plan for which was yet to be made by to masses.
The report said, "there is clear admission that the project will
have huge sedimentation problems and yet the document says nothing
about what needs to be done.
According to esro analysts, hydel power projects costs normally over
around Rs 3 to 3.6 crore per MW. But in case of Sawalkote it was
logging in at about Rs 12 crore per MW. Comparing with the allegedly
overpriced 2100 MW Enron project which was being constructed at a
cost of $ 2.8 billion or Rs 6.1 crore per MW, the Sawalkote project
was estimated at a much higher side.
A question mark has been put at the end stating that how can a power
project worth $1.6 billion have such a low tariff. Power from
Dulhasti in the same Chenab Valley is projected to come to a massive
Rs 11 per unit. Another question was haunting the experts who say
that at a time when the state government was unable to collect even
Rs 2 per unit who was going to collect money for the power produced
from Sawalkote.
eIEN South Asia
Western Himalaya Kashmir
COD KASHMIR
A cause supported by 1000 non-governmental organizations in 60 countries.
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COD
eIEN South Asia
Western Himalaya Kashmir
In response to the growing opposition to large dams, the Commission on Dams (COD) was established by the eIEN South Asia Western Himalaya Kashmir in 2005. The Commission came into existance from a variety of backgrounds, representing a broad spectrum of interests – including governments and non–governmental organisations, grassroots people's movements and academicians .The world economy has reached a point where it needed to manufacture needs and desires and raise the level of construction activities so that the capitalist class could continue accumulating capital; the system had reached a point where the appetites of capitalists exceeded the demand.
COD KASHMIR Reports
Rationale for Jammu & Kashmir State Power Sector
Resettlement and rehabilitation: Moving from an inadequate policy to a bad one
Hydropower: Clean Energy or Destroyer?
Baglihar Face of the Controversial Dam
Sawalkot Hydropower Project EIA Statement yet to be disseminated
Kishenganga HPP ; will driving out the more than 25,000 Dard Shin people
Sawalkot Hydropower Project
Environmental Impact Assessment Statement yet to be disseminated
The Sawalkot Hydroelectric Power Project is located on the Chenab River which runs into Pakistan before joining the Indus River. The reservoir formed will be more than 20 km long with a surface area of about 19 km 2 . The underground power station will have an installed capacity of 600 MW and utilise an average river flow of 833 m 3/s to yield an annual electricity production of about 4,000 GWh. The project will be a run-of-the-river project.
Many questions pertaining to Sawalkote hydel project had remained unanswered by either the executing or funding agencies including the state government as well as the central government. Many eyebrows were raised on the manner in which Environment Impact Assessment has been submitted .
Together with Indian and Nepalese sub-consultants NORPLAN carried out some rounds of field visits, always accompanied by security personnel from the Indian Government due to the present security situation in the region.
In 1999 NORPLAN carried out an adhoc environmental and social scoping study connected to the Sawalkote Hydropower Project in Kashmir, India. The scoping study although identified important issues and impacts in order to optimise future use of valuable study time and resources in a full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). But how and when such work was carried out on the EIA remains a mystery .
Major drawback found in the project for which the state government signed a MOU at Delhi was that the Norwegian environmental organisation in its feasibility report had admitted that the study done by it cannot be classified as a full environment impact assessment (EIA) but just a forerunner of EIA as the company representatives could not visit all the project downstream areas due to security reasons.
It was estimated that around 200 to 220 houses will be flooded and probably over 1000 people will be displaced - the rehabilitation plan for which was yet to be made by to masses.
The report said, "there is clear admission that the project will have huge sedimentation problems and yet the document says nothing about what needs to be done.
According to esro analysts, hydel power projects costs normally over around Rs 3 to 3.6 crore per MW. But in case of Sawalkote it was logging in at about Rs 12 crore per MW. Comparing with the allegedly overpriced 2100 MW Enron project which was being constructed at a cost of $ 2.8 billion or Rs 6.1 crore per MW, the Sawalkote project was estimated at a much higher side.
A question mark has been put at the end stating that how can a power project worth $1.6 billion have such a low tariff. Power from Dulhasti in the same Chenab Valley is projected to come to a massive Rs 11 per unit. Another question was haunting the experts who say that at a time when the state government was unable to collect even Rs 2 per unit who was going to collect money for the power produced from Sawalkote.