HP to seek denotification of land for Parbati project

CHANDIGARH, December 18: The Himachal Pradesh government has proposed to seek denotification of nearly 88 bighas of the forest land - cur...

CHANDIGARH, December 18: The Himachal Pradesh government has proposed to seek denotification of nearly 88 bighas of the forest land 8211; currently under the Great Himalayan National Park, Kullu, in order to take up execution work for 2051 mw Parbati hydel project.

The state governmnent had recently signed an agreement with the National Hydro-Electric Project Corporation NHPC for execution of the project in the central sector. However, before foundation stone for the project was laid, the government had to get 88 bighas of the forest land denotified for its non-forest use.

Earlier, the state government and the NHPC had planned to invite Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for laying the foundation stone this month. Now state agencies, including the HPSEB had detected that unless the Central Government grants permission to use 88 bighas of the land 8211; falling in the Great Himalayan National Park boundaries, the project could not be taken up.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal confirmed to ENS that the state government had decided to sent a formal proposal to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to seek denotification of the area. 8220;I have already spoken to the minister-incharge of Environment and Forests Suresh Prabhu and sought his intervention. In fact Prabhu is himself visiting Kullu early next month and matter would be sorted out there only,8221; he feels.

Dhumal, unnevered by unsavoury controversy raised by the Congress over the project agreement with the NHPC, is determined to go ahead with the plans on the hydel power generation. He accuses the Congress especially former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh of his complete apathy towards the hydel sector and claimed that had Virbhadra Singh not opposed the agreement of five-states on execution of this mega project in the joint sector, there would not have been any need to sign a fresh agreement.

The Great Himalayan National Park, which spreads over an area of 65 square km, has some of the rate wildlife species like western tragopan, Himalayan monal, koklas, snow partridges and Himalayan snowcocks. A Rs. 6 crore World Bank project was already under implementation in the park and two villages located within the park territory are also supposed to be relocated outside the park areas. The officials at the park feel that in case the Centre agrees for denotification of 88 bighas patch of the park land, the human population would not require to be shifted.

Forest Minister Roop Singh Thakur himself shares the view that major projects, whether hydro-power or any other development related, should not suffer merely because of the fact that some patch of the forest land comes under it.

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Inquiries reveal that the state government had already obtained some of the clearance and matter relating to the Great Himalayan National Park land came to notice of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board HPSEB authorities only recently. A request for grant of permission had already been sent.

The project had been hanging fire for over five years as previous the Congress Government did not accept the agreement signed by earlier Shanta Kumar Government for five-state partnership in the project execution. Even now, the Congress had raised some objections on the new agreement signed by the government with the NHPC for execution of the project in the central sector.