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On August 13, while dealing with a case related to a 330 MW hydro-electric project in Uttarakhand, the Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Environment and Forests “not to grant any further environmental clearance or forest clearance for any hydroelectric projects in the State until further notice”.
Among other things, the order also asked the ministry to constitute expert panels to look into the environmental impact of existing and under-construction hydro projects.
The order was welcomed with glee by a number of green groups. About 20 of them had previously written to the Environment Ministry seeking the suspension of hydro-electric projects in Uttarkhand and Himachal Pradesh. The trail of death and destruction wrought by the floods in June bolstered their case.
There are currently 39 hydro-power projects seeking the go-ahead in the State.
At a standstill
The development of the sector is being held back by delayed approvals, particularly over environmental concerns, some valid, some otherwise.
The statistics indicate just how far behind hydro-power has fallen over the years. Since 2002-03, 26 hydro-electric projects with an aggregate installed capacity of 19,249 MW have received Central Electricity Authority concurrence (meaning: the projects are technically acceptable). Not one of them has been cleared by the Environment Ministry. Another 21 projects, with an aggregate installed capacity of 7,724 MW, are under examination by the CEA.
Other projects have come to a standstill. For instance, the 400 MW Maheshwari project on the Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh, which began in the late 1990s, is still not complete. It has had to contend with stiff resistance from the Narmada Bachao Andolan.
In consonance with this reality, the 12th Plan’s targets are also modest. It envisages creation of 88,537 MW of capacity, of which only 10,897 MW (12 per cent) will be hydro-power.
This is a disturbing trend, given the sector’s potential and given its low-cost and clean attributes. Some estimates put India’s hydro-electric potential at about 150,000 MW.
In 1970, hydro-power accounted for 44 per cent of India’s power generation. Today, at 39,623 MW (as of June 30), it accounts for just 17.5 per cent of the total generation capacity of 225,793 MW.
That may fall further, given the challenges hydro-power faces.
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