Lakhwar Dam On Yamuna Cleared, Ignoring Laws
By Bahar Dutt/thethirdpole.net
New Delhi, the capital of India, is fed by the Yamuna, a river it has so polluted that it is classified as dead for a long way downstream. But even the first 100 kilometres of the Yamuna’s journey through the mountains, rich in biodiversity, is now chequered with obstacles.
A number of large hydropower projects are underway; arresting the river, forcing it through tunnels, thrusting it forward through barrages. The Yamuna basin has at least 12 operating hydropower projects with installed capacity of 495 MW, at least five are under construction, and 31 more are proposed according to Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP). Standing out in this slew of hydro projects is Lakhwar – a dam that was given the go ahead by India’s National Board for Wildlife in April 2020. The Lakhwar Multipurpose Project (300 MW) is a peaking power station proposed on the Yamuna near Lohari village in the district of Dehradun in Uttarakhand and is being developed by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (UJVN Ltd).
A number of large hydropower projects are underway; arresting the river, forcing it through tunnels, thrusting it forward through barrages. The Yamuna basin has at least 12 operating hydropower projects with installed capacity of 495 MW, at least five are under construction, and 31 more are proposed according to Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP). Standing out in this slew of hydro projects is Lakhwar – a dam that was given the go ahead by India’s National Board for Wildlife in April 2020. The Lakhwar Multipurpose Project (300 MW) is a peaking power station proposed on the Yamuna near Lohari village in the district of Dehradun in Uttarakhand and is being developed by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd. (UJVN Ltd).
[This is one of the few stretches that the Yamuna flows unfettered (image by: Manoj Mishra)]
Using a clearance given in 1987 the project proponents asked for construction on the project to be started again. Here’s a snapshot of the cost to the environment- Over 300,000 trees will be axed on 768 hectares of forestland;
- A stretch of over 30 km of the Aglar river – the only perennial (non-glacial origin) tributary of river Yamuna until the proposed project site – would become part of the reservoir and lose its character as a flowing river;
- The construction will have serious consequences on biodiversity upstream of the river, an area that is considered rich in fish species especially the endangered mahseer. A report by an IIT consortium as a part of the broader strategy for developing the Ganga River Basin Environment Management Plan observed that the upper stretch of the Yamuna is significantly richer in biodiversity than the lower parts; 139 species belonging to 78 genus and 33 families have been reported from the Yamuna;
- The Binog Wildlife Sanctuary and Mussoorie Eco-sensitive Zone are located just 3.1 kilometres and 1.99 kilometres away, respectively, from the project site.
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