Tipaimukh Hydel Power Project was designed to produce 1500 MW of power which,besides meeting the peak hour requirements of this valley,will also cater to the demands of the North East States and even contribute to the central grid.Thousands of acres of agricultural land will get irrigation facilities during the dry season.It was also envisioned to moderate and control floods,an annual scourge. It has been estimated that Barak and its tributaries can provide irrigation facility for 20,243 hectares of land which is only a meagre 7% of the total cultivable land in the Valley.Due to uneconomic cultivation,the estimate says that Rs.62 crore is lost annually as far as paddy is concerned.

Barak Dam,when completed,will provide irrigation facility across the valley and contribute towards better and higher agricultural production.Commercial growth of sugarcane and production of tea is to increase by 30%.It will,at the same time,boost production of cash crops like jute,mustard and vegetables besides pineapples,oranges and lemons.Agro based industries will easily grow with the availability of power.Moreover,it will facilitate round the year cultivation and multi-cropping.

Barak Valley has its own tale of projects being scuttled and abandoned.It is,therefore,not surprising that the fate of Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydel Power Project should also hang in the balance

The amount of money incurred by the Flood Control Department,now called the Water Resources Department in containing floods and anti erosion measures had been Rs.2,000 crore till 1992,according to the Brahmaputra Board which had prepared a detailed report on Barak Dam.Quite astonishing,in Cachar alone from 2008 till date,Rs.150 crore has been spent by the Water Resource Department for flood control measures.There can be no protection against floods and erosion unless these are contained at the source.Village after village is being washed away by unabated erosion caused by Barak and its tributaries.The huge amount of money being drained on flood control measures could otherwise be utilized for development of the valley.

The grounds for refusal by the Sub Committee of the Ministry of Forest and Environment are that 24,329 hectares of forest land with 78,16,931 trees and 27,000 bamboo columns will be destroyed,resulting in an adverse impact on the ecosystem.It will eventually tell heavily on the habitats,flora and fauna, biodiversity,microclimate and environment.It will also have a negative impact on the livelihood and culture of the affected people.Being located in a seismic belt,disastrous consequences are foreseen in the event of an earthquake.The lessons that came in the wake of the natural disaster in Uttarakhand can hardly be overlooked.

It is surprising that the project mooted more than 40 years ago and given environmental clearance in 2008 should now be caught in controversy.Moreover, rehabilitation package for the 557 families in 12 villages to be displaced in the event of the construction of the dam was also prepared and approved of by the UMOFE. It is also on record that in order to build up infrastructure facilities at the site,Rs.6 crore was allotted at the initial stage during the time of Vidya Charan Shukla,the then Union Minister of Water Resources,and subsequently more funds flowed for the purpose.It is also significant that the foundation stone of this project was laid by Sushil Kumar Shinde,then Union Minister of Power,in the presence of other Central Ministers who included Sontosh Mohan Dev,Oscar Fernandez and Prithviraj Chauhan and Chief Minister of Manipur,Okram Ibobi Singh,on December 17,2006.

The multipurpose project is located 500 metres downstream of river Tuivai from Mizoram and Barak from Manipur near Tipaimukh village in the Tamenlong district of Manipur.In fact,its strategic location makes it the most favoured power project with abundant water resources of high velocity.After all the detailed survey and study to commission the project, the refusal of the Ministry of Forest and Environment to give it environment clearance brings into the fore certain relevant facts for reconsideration and retrospect.

It has to be noted that there are 4536 large dams in the country which are now embarking upon adopting an emergency action plan to avert the possible cascading effect of dam failure in view of the Uttarakhand tragedy and disaster.Similar,emergency action plan can be prepared to meet any critical situation in the event of a Barak Dam burst.In respect of the forest lands being destroyed,it has been suggested that additional non forest areas in the affected or adjoining districts of Mizoram,Manipur and Assam can be taken up for compensatory afforestation. More than the disaster signals being sounded is the reckless and merciless felling of trees and destruction of forests across the North East as a whole by man himself.A report of Brahmaputra Board of 1990 spoke of massive deforestation in and around the vast catchment areas of the proposed dam and suggested afforestation on a large scale.

Despite the fact that more than 30,000 hectares of forest land including the famous Kanha National Park will be affected,through alternative afforestation, the loss will be compensated.

The State of Forest Report,2011,released by the Forest Survey of India(FSI)shows the region has lost 549 sq km of forest cover in the last two years while another 1,229 sq kms of forest land has also been degraded into scrub with canopy density of less than 10%.Assam has lost the maximum forest cover in the entire country of the very dense category of forest,17 sq kms in the last two years.The moderately dense type of forest in Assam has also decreased by 152 sq kms-the highest in the country,according to the report.All the reserve forests of this valley are today nothing more than the replicas of their past greenery.The apprehension of forested land being destroyed,it is clear,is rather unconvincing.Logically,the UMOFE should initiate steps to stop deforestation and alert the State Governments of the region to strictly follow the directive of the Supreme Court.Moreover,there is no record,past or present,about any seismic jolt in the Tipaimukh area.

It is quite relevant to refer here to the saga of the success of the Damodar Valley Corporation in West Bengal which was once predicted to spell doom and disaster but which has now turned the Damodar Valley earlier known as the“Sorrow of Bengal”into the“Rice bowl of India.”Significantly,the barrage is generating 10,000 MW of power.The entire lower Damodar area below Durgapur barrage covering the districts of Burdwan,Hoogli and Howrah have benefitted due to flood moderation by DVC Dam.This first multipurpose power project in India has drastically changed the socio-economic scenario of the Damodar Valley area. Now,according to the Chairman,Rabindra Nath Sen,DVC is taking up remedial measures to avoid a catastrophe like the Himalayan Tsunami at Uttarakhand.

Professor Somnath Das Gupta,Vice-Chancellor of Assam University and a reputed geologist has said that he did not find any logic behind the decision of the UMOFE.He referred to the Narmada Dam in Gujrat.Both the proponents and opponents have agreed to reduce the height of the dam by 3 feet.Despite the fact that more than 30,000 hectares of forest land including the famous Kanha National Park will be affected,through alternative afforestation,the loss will be compensated.

“the temple of resurgent India.”

In order to hammer home the point for reconsideration of the Tipaimukh project,reference can be made to the 5 major multipurpose dams of India.Bhakra Nangal Dam in Punjab,the highest in the world,Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand,the second largest after Bhakra Nangal,Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujrat,Nagarjun Sagar Dam in Andhra Pradesh and Hirakud Dam in Odisha which have brought about significant change in the socio-economic life of these states.Jawaharlal Nehru,who was cautioned by Russian experts against the construction of Bhakra-Nangal Dam which would have submerged the whole of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh in the event of its failure,described it as“the temple of resurgent India.”It has been truly so,for Punjab and Haryana today are the granaries of the country.These dams are multipurpose generating power,moderating floods and providing irrigation facilities.Moreover,with massive afforestation around, these dams have become famous tourist destinations.But,Barak Valley has its own tale of projects being scuttled and abandoned.It is,therefore,not surprising that the fate of Tipaimukh Multipurpose Hydel Power Project should also hang in the balance.

Jyoti Chowdhury