In a major development on the protection of the fragile upper Ganga River basin and Himalayan eco-system in Uttarakhand, the Centre on Wednesday submitted to the Supreme Court that it is not in favour of permitting any new hydro-electric projects in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi River apart from seven which are either commissioned or are in advanced stages of construction.
These seven projects are Tehri Stage – II, Tapovan Vishnugad, Vishnugad Pipalkoti, Signoli Bhatwari, Phata Byung, Madhmaheshwar and Kaliganga – II. The Centre’s stand was filed before the Supreme Court Wednesday in a matter where the court has been examining the question of allowing new hydro-electric projects in the upper reaches of the Ganga River basin.
The court is also hearing power companies in this matter, as they have opposed recommendations to halt certain projects.
The Centre stated in no uncertain terms that there is a considerable difference in Ganga River system vis-a-vis other river systems and hence, special treatment is required for this region and geological and ecological integrity needs to be maintained for Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Basin which harbour headstreams of the river Ganga. “Headstreams are critical for supplying food/nutrients and critical biodiversity to the riverine ecosystem,” it was stated.
The decision comes after in January; the Supreme Court had granted three months to the Centre for taking a final decision on this issue. The Ministry of Jal Shakti and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change filed the joint affidavit on behalf of the union government.
“…on behalf of the Union of India, it is respectfully submitted that only the following seven (07) Hydro-Electric Projects, of which four (04) projects are already commissioned and three (03) projects have already achieved substantial physical and financial progress, may be permitted to proceed, subject to strict compliance with all applicable statutory provisions and environmental safeguards and that no other new Hydro-Electric Projects shall be undertaken in the upper reaches of the Ganga river basin in the State of Uttarakhand,” the Centre’s affidavit stated.
“Apart from these seven projects the Indian government is not in favour of permitting any other new hydro-electric project in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi River in the upper reaches of the River Ganga in the state of Uttarakhand,” it was added.
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According to the submissions, the decision to not have any new hydro-electric projects in the upper Ganga basin was taken after inter-ministerial consultations, concurrence of the Ministry of Power. The government ministry’s decision hinged on revisiting the recommendations of an Expert Body (II) which was constituted in 2015, which had said that 28 projects could be allowed in Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basin.
In late 2024, a committee chaired by Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan had also revisited the recommendations of the Expert Body – II, headed by BP Das. The Cabinet Secretary led committee, comprising of the Jal Shakti Ministry and Environment Ministry had narrowed down to allowing only five hydroelectric projects. However, the Centre’s current submission reverses that stand as well.
The Ministry of Jal Shakti reasoned in the joint affidavit that the Ganga River system is considerably different from other river systems and requires special treatment; geological and ecological integrity of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Basin. It held that the Expert Body-II headed by BP Das, completely ignored the cumulative impact of hydropower projects, if all new 28 projects it had recommended were implemented and the river’s free flow would be greatly impacted.
“The EB-II report completely ignored the cumulative impact of hydropower projects. If all new projects were to be implemented, the free flow of the river would be greatly impacted. The report fails to capture the cumulative impact of anthropogenic pressures other than hydropower development. The aquatic/terrestrial impacts in the report are measured per megawatt, which fails to capture the full extent of forest/river damage from large,” the Centre stated in its affidavit.
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The environment flow or e-flow of the river, which refers to a certain minimum flow required to maintain aquatic health, the river basin’s religious-cultural importance, and crucially, its geological vulnerabilities were all cited as factors for this decision
The affidavit stated that the region’s geological fragility and recurrent disaster history was pointed out. “The Ganga River basin wholly lies within the most vulnerable Seismic Zone IV and V of the young Himalayan Mountain system. It is inherently prone to lanslides, flash floods, glacial lakes outburst floods, avalanches, cloud bursts. The biodiversity of the upper Ganga basin, the government pointed out hosts critical riparian and aquatic biodiversity,” it was stated.
Past recommendations by expert bodies and government’s stand
The apex court has been examining the question of starting new HEPs on the Ganga since 2013, in a suo motu case it took up following the Kedarnath floods that killed over 5,000 people. Initially, the court put a moratorium on granting clearances for any new HEPs, and asked the environment ministry to form a committee to first study the impact of such projects. Since then, the ministry has formed three committees:
The first one, led by environmentalist Ravi Chopra, concluded in 2014 that HEPs exacerbated the disaster. It also recommended not going ahead with 24 proposed projects.
After six HEP proponents moved the Supreme Court for permission to resume their projects, the ministry formed a second committee in 2015 under IIT-Kanpur’s Vinod Tare. This panel found that the six projects had prior clearances but would pose serious ecological impacts.
Then, a third committee formed under engineer BP Das recommended in 2020 that 28 projects be given a nod.
However, the Centre decided in 2021 that just seven of these 28 projects, on which work had already begun, be given the go-ahead. This came on the back of a meeting held in the Prime Minister’s Office chaired by the Principal Secretary to the PM.
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In August 2024, the Supreme Court asked the Centre why it had allowed only seven projects. It also formed a high-level committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan, to revisit the BP Das committee report and decide the fate of the other 21 HEPs.
This panel, in a report submitted to the court on November 8, gave a go-ahead to five projects – Bowala Nandprayag (300 MW on Alaknanda river), Devasri (252 MW on Pinder river), Bhyundar Ganga (24.3 MW), Jhalakoti (12.5 MW) and Urgam-II (7.5 MW).
