sorry i am posting it very late but i wan to know from experts here whether concern raised in eia reports are logical or its absurd here is a link
EIA report reveals ravaging impact of Kishanganga Power Project Lastupdate:- Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:30:00 GMT GreaterKashmir.com
Srinagar, Sep 12: In a case of sheer negligence, the Jammu and Kashmir Government and the National Hydel Power Corporation (NHPC) have blatantly overlooked the adverse impact of the Kishanganga Power Project in north Kashmir's Gurez Valley even as the hazards stand clearly delineated in an official Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the 330 MW venture.
Greater Kashmir has laid its hands on the EIA/ EMP studies of the Kishanganga Power Project, which has, in very clear terms, pointed to dangers associated with the project, including its impact on the distinct cultural and ethnic identity of the Dard-Shina community in Gurez and also on the area's fragile ecosystem.
The EIA and the Environment Management Plan (EMP) exercises have been conducted by the Delhi University's Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment (CISMHE) for the NHPC.
The EIA report refers to some of serious impacts that the Kishanganga power project can have on the environment, ethnicity and culture of Gurez - a warning which seems to have been ignored by the NHPC and the J&K Government.
ON ENVIRONMENT
The report says "altogether seven villages comprising 10 tribal settlements, their farm lands and forest area amounting to 13,550 kanals, 15 marlas of land and 1170 households would be affected due to construction of the power project."
"All the households in Nyle, Mastan-Khapuri, Badwan-Wampora, Khandiyal-Faqirpora, Dawar and Markut villages would be fully affected, while the village Achhura would be partially affected," it states.
The report says that the total human population (as per Census 2001) to be affected in these areas is 8737. The total village area is 1129.18 hectares while the land to be affected is 505 hectares.
The report clearly mentions that the earning population in Gurez Valley is just 19.87 percent while over 80 percent falls in the 'dependent' category. "The villagers greatly depend on surrounding forests for the collection of wild vegetables, Zeera (cumin seeds), mushrooms, medicinal herbs and fodder/grazing of animals," it reads. "They are heavily dependent on these forests for their requirements of fire wood and timber for the construction of houses."
Tables mentioned in the report clearly show that 54.65 hectares of land area is under cultivation of different crops like Wheat, Maize, Rajmah and Potato—which is the mainstay of the people of Gurez. It also shows the livestock position, revealing that total livestock population is 14750. The report refers to the socio-economic profile of villages one by one, revealing the intensity of crop cultivation and dependence of people on the same.
NATURAL HABITATS
Chapter 13 of the report reveals that the threat of habitat disturbance, degradation and fragmentation may not only come from the constructional activities, but from large labourer population that will exert tremendous anthropogenic pressure on the natural ecosystems around the project activity sites. "The pressures may be foreseen in terms of fuel-wood collection, rearing of livestock and the grazing pressure on the surrounding natural forest ecosystems, killing and poaching of animals, pressure on medicinal plants, degradation of habitat through tree felling and negative changes in aesthetic quality of landscape by overcrowding beyond its carrying capacity," the report mentions. "There are areas where direct impacts may be felt. All the project works would be located either within the Kishanganga catchments or outside the catchments in and around the power house site. The labourer force working at these sites will also bring about negative impacts on habitats and species populations around these sites."
SPECIES POPULATION LOSSES
The report has also warned that the "threats of loss and disappearance to species and populations may arise from inundation, habitat destruction and fragmentation. The species populations that face maximum risk includes taxa with small population sizes, critically endangered, over-exploitation, endemic and restricted distribution."
"The only area that needs to be carefully handled while project activities are going on is the habitats upstream of tail of dam. The habitats in the catchments of Kishanganga were observed to harbour populations of plant species which are important and typical Himalayan species. The threat to these species because of their high medicinal value is also perceived from human work force which will be residing in these areas," the report says.
In a major concern, the report says several cases of killing and poaching of some endangered Himalayan animals like snow leopard, Markhor, Black bear and Musk Deer have also been reported by migrant labourers that come to these areas for work on road construction and other development projects. "The noise created by blasting and tunnelling is likely to disturb bird and animal life in the vicinity of any such activity. Though these are temporary impacts, permanent losses of animal life and injures to them cannot be ruled out by fly-rock accidents," the report mentions.
The report says that "impact on water quality is expected to arise from disposal of excavated material into river channel. The muck will essentially come from the road building activity, tunnelling and other excavation works." It adds the "degradation in water quality will mainly arise from discharge of waste and refuse into the river channel by the labourer colonies and other temporary human habitations."
'DEMOGRAHIC CHANGES'
In a major warning ignored by the NHPC, the report has made it clear that the expected workforce to be employed in the project may vary from 3000 to 5000 annually. "The quantum of human population that will migrate from other areas will be enormous as compared to local human population in the valley. The migrant labourers will greatly outnumber the indigenous population resulting in demographic changes and other repercussions that follow," the report reads. "Since the migrant workforce will be from different regions, diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds and value systems, they are bound to affect the local socio-cultural and value systems."
In Gurez Valley, the report mentions, there are some distinct ethnic groups which have links with groups of far away regions in North-West. "This group known as Dard-Shina have distinct ethnic and cultural identity, which these people believe may be threatened," the report mentions.
SERIOUS ISSUES
The report mentions that changes in demographic profiles are known to bring about cultural invasions in the society. "Such invasions will surely be expected here, through it may be a temporary phenomenon," it says. "Because of varying cultural and ethnic backgrounds and social value system, it is expected that the presence of these migrant groups may lead to social conflicts and social tensions."
The report argues that migrant workers are likely to act as "carriers of new diseases hitherto unknown and unreported from the project area. Disease like AIDS, VDS, Malaria, Gastroenteritis are some of the potential risks to human health," the report warns. "With the influx of migrant population there would be enormous requirement for the housing and accommodation leading to escalation in rent rates in the Valley. There will be pressure on the existing house-owners to expand their dwellings leading to a spurt in developmental activity of another nature and change in the existing land use. These activities would ultimately result in additional timber extraction from forests as majority of houses in the area consume a lot of wood."
The report goes to the extent of warning that the temporary hutments of the labourer colonies "will become like shanty towns and give the landscape an ugly look. The serenity and pristine nature of the Valley will be significantly changed into messy and crowded township, resulting in conversion of aesthetically pleasing landscape into an eyesore."
The report finally says "the maximum impact of migrant labourer population would be expected by a number of activities that they might undertake. These include killing and poaching, overexploitation of important medicinal plants, grazing of their domestic cattle in the natural forests which are climatic in nature."
