Water woes to stay as dam work stopped (Times of India 29 July 2011)

NEW DELHI: It will be long before Delhi finds a solution to its water problem. The national green tribunal on Thursday ordered Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd (HPPCL) to stop all construction work related to the Renuka Dam project.
The interim order put an end to any further land acquisition for the project till the main hearing, scheduled on September 1, takes place.
Delhi's share from the40-MW hydel project is pegged at 270 million gallons per day - a massive amount considering that the city is treating about 700MGD for its drinking water needs at present.
While forest clearance to the project was cancelled by the ministry of environment and forests in October, 2010, questions are also being raised about its environment clearance. Lawyer Ritwick Dutta, who appeared for the petitioner, said the two major issue son which the tribunal had stepped in were the discrepancies in total land required for the project and the number of families which would be displaced .
"So far, there is no one figure of how much land is required for the dam," said Dutta . "The environment impact assessment report states a figure that is completely different from what is mentioned in the environment clearance letter issued by the ministry. Yet another figure is being thrown up by the land acquisition reports. While the environment clearance states a figure of 1,477 hectares, HPPCL is quoting 2,239 hectares. About 37 villages will be impacted. This will also play a role in deciding the number of trees that need to be felled for the project, which, as per our analysis, is more than 13 lakh," he added.
There is still no clarity on how many families will be affected if the dam comes up. The assessment report mentions that about 308 families will be displaced while HPPCL's own land acquisition records indicate that the figure is around 1,300.
"How can the project be accorded any clearances when the baseline data is absent or false. The approved project seems totally at odds with what is being implemented. Even the credibility of the group that carried out impact assessment is being questioned .Acquisition work and maybe even construction was taking place at a breakneck speed," added Dutta.