Hydro projects exempted from impact study

The Union environment ministry has exempted expansion of hydroelectric and river valley projects, that do not involve a change in reservoir capacity or key design components, from fresh cumulative impact assessment and carrying capacity studies.

- Jayashree Nandi

NEW DELHI:

An office memorandum issued by the Impact Assessment Division of MoEFCC said that the ministry received representation from the ministry of power regarding exemption from impact assessment studies for expansion proposals of existing projects in a given river basin.

"The matter has been examined in consultation with the expert appraisal committee (EAC), river valley and hydroelectric projects and accordingly it is clarified that expansion proposals of existing HEPs, which do not result in any change in reservoir capacity (Full Reservoir Level-FRL and Dam height), environmental flow and modification in key components like spillway, intake gates, may be carried out after joint appraisal of the EIA/EMP of existing HEPs as well as the EIA/EMP of the proposed expansion project rather than undertaking a fresh CIA/CSS study," the office memorandum dated January 3 said.

In 2013, the ministry through an office memorandum stipulated that the first project in a river basin could come up without insisting on cumulative impact study, but for all subsequent hydro-power projects in the basin, cumulative impact assessment is a must.