New norms irrational

Rakesh Lohumi

A view of outfall of a small project on a river tributory The decision of the government to relax norms for small hydropower projects will have serious consequences for environment in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region where a large number of projects are in the pipeline. Under the revised norms, projects up to 25 MW capacity will not be required to obtain the “Consent to Operate” anymore and just an intimation to the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) will be enough to start work. This effectively dismantles the mechanism provided for addressing environmental concerns and monitoring the implementation of projects. The SPCB will have no role and it will no longer be in a position to enforce environmental laws. Hydropower projects do not cause air or water pollution as such but they have huge environmental and socioeconomic fallout.
States like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where maximum number of projects is being implemented, have been witnessing repeated agitations and protracted litigation by the affected people. Veteran environment expert and activist Prof.G.D.Agrawal , who gave up his life for the cause of Ganga was against construction of power projects in a cascade as it obstructed the flow of river. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) and state High Courts have intervened and passed several orders to mitigate the impact.

Excavation for hydropower project However, ignoring the environmental concerns raised by the SPCB, the Central Pollution Control Board shifted the small hydropower projects from the Green category to the newly created “White” category under which “Consent to Operate” is not required. Keeping in view the adverse fallout of hydropower projects, the SPCB , agency for enforcing environmental norms, had pleaded for shifting the small projects of 5 MW to 25 MW from “Green” to “Orange” category during the construction phase and they should come under the Green category only at operational stage. Further, projects up to 5 MW should remain in Green category during construction and operation phase and only projects of less than 1 MW capacity be classified as nonpolluting and placed under the “White” category.
Under reclassification of polluting industries as many as 36 industrial sectors have been brought under the non-polluting “White” category and the number has come down from 85 to 60 under Red category and from 86 to 63 under the “Green” category. The number of industrial under the “Orange” category has gone up from 73 to 83.

Hydropower projects involve activities that have severe impact on environment like deforestation, construction of roads, structures to divert flow of streams, de-silting chambers, water conveyance tunnels or channels, power house, switch yards and transmission lines. This was the reason for SPCB demanding more stringent norms for these projects during the construction phase.

A number of small projects on a stream, virtually coming up one over the other, is far more destructive than one big project as the entire catchment is disturbed due to spread of construction activity.

A hydropower project site The fact that “stone crusher”, which has minimal environmental fallout compared to small hydropower projects, has been placed under the Orange category even under the revised classification, makes it obvious that the decision to put small hydropower projects in the “White “ category is irrational.
A stone crusher involves an investment of around Rs 1.50 crore and its impact is localised as quarrying is confined to a small part of the hill leased out for the purpose. In contrast, hydropower projects of 25 MW require investment of over Rs 300 crore and generate huge debris, 3500 to 11000 cubic metre per megawatt, from excavations carried on steep slopes across the catchments.
Moreover, all the hydropower projects involve mining, crushing by stone crushers and aggregate processing. Intense construction activity on fragile mountains has long term implications for environment, particularly destabilisation of slopes due to deforestation, unscientific excavations and improper disposal of debris. Further, large scale felling of trees and diversions of streams, which provide water for drinking and irrigation to the local people, have a severe socioeconomic impact.
A former Principal Senior Environmental Engineer of SPCB, D.K.Sharma, who retired only last year explains that a number of small projects on a stream, virtually coming up one over the other, is far more destructive than one big project as the entire catchment is disturbed due to spread of construction activity. This is one of the major factors behind the plea of the SPCB for making the norms for small projects more stringent during construction phase by shifting them from “Green” to “Orange” category.
A 100 MW project will essentially have a diversion structure, a tunnel or channel, de-silting tank, a power house and a switch yard. However, if five 20 MW projects are constructed in its place the catchment will be devastated as intensity of construction will increase five-fold. Approach roads will have to be constructed to access the sites of power house, diversion structures, tunnel portals, adits and other works for five projects.
Further, by dismantling the consent mechanism the SPCB will not be in a position to effectively monitor the projects and enforce environmental norms. Earlier, all the issues were taken care of while granting “Consent to Operate” and it was mandatory to file the details of muck generated and its deposal with the board by 7th of every month. The board is also the nodal agency for enforcing the mandatory release of 15 percent water from diversion structures as environmental discharge. It has been conducting public hearings, an important part of the process for environment clearance which provides an opportunity to thrash out local issues.
A lot of cases have been filed with the NGT and High Court regarding violation of environmental norms in respect projects up to 25 MW. Now that these projects have been brought under non-polluting category where the board will not have much role in enforcing environmental norms. In absence of consent mechanism there is no way to assess the impact and address the issues , such a situation the affected people will have no option but to stage protests and seek legal recourse, which will not help the cause of power developers.

Some developed countries like Sweden and Norway have consciously decided not to harness 25 to 35 per cent their hydropower potential as environmental safeguard. Here environmental safeguards are being thrown to winds to draw private investment is hydropower.

Another project site Chander Mohan Walia, Convenor of Forum of Hydropower Producers and Other Stake-holders for All River Basins, maintains that adverse fallout of hydropower projects can be best addressed by undertaking sustainability studies as was being done in other countries. The exercise helps to measure the sustainability of projects across a range of social, environmental, economic and technical considerations to help identify the best practises for planning, construction and operation of hydropower projects.
Some developed countries like Sweden and Norway have consciously decided not to harness 25 to 35 per cent their hydropower potential as environmental safeguard. Here environmental safeguards are being thrown to winds to draw private investment is hydropower which is no longer attractive due to high generation cost and long gestation period. The push to solar energy has also hit the hydropower sector hard.
While the cost of hydropower has increased sharply over the past decade and that of solar power has come down and now ranges between Rs 2.25 to Rs 3.25 per unit. The tariff for new hydro projects will work out to about Rs 6 per unit or more, while average spot price of electricity in the country was Rs 3.37 per unit.
In such a scenario the downslide in hydropower is no surprise. Declining discharge in rivers, a consequence of climate change, is also affecting generation. The share of hydropower generation from large projects dipped below 10 per cent in 2016-17 for the first time since Independence and the trend continued in 2017-18.
Over 1100 hydropower projects are either being implemented or in pipeline in the Himalayan region. In Himachal alone so far 148 projects with aggregate capacity of 10,534 MW have been commissioned, 63 projects of 2396 MW are under construction and 773 projects of 7935 MW are at various stages. The country has an installed hydropower capacity of about 45 Gigawatt, while a potential of around 100 Gigawatt is yet to be harnessed.



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Under the revised norms, projects up to 25 MW capacity will not be required to obtain the “Consent to Operate” anymore and just an intimation to the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) will be enough to start work. This effectively dismantles the mechanism provided for addressing environmental concerns and monitoring the implementation of projects. The SPCB will have no role and it will no longer be in a position to enforce environmental laws. Hydropower projects do not cause air or water pollution as such but they have huge environmental and socioeconomic fallout. States like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where maximum number of projects is being implemented, have been witnessing repeated agitations and protracted litigation by the affected people. Veteran environment expert and activist Prof.G.D.Agrawal , who gave up his life for the cause of Ganga was against construction of power projects in a cascade as it obstructed the flow of river. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) and state High Courts have intervened and passed several orders to mitigate the impact. Excavation for hydropower project However, ignoring the environmental concerns raised by the SPCB, the Central Pollution Control Board shifted the small hydropower projects from the Green category to the newly created “White” category under which “Consent to Operate” is not required. Keeping in view the adverse fallout of hydropower projects, the SPCB , agency for enforcing environmental norms, had pleaded for shifting the small projects of 5 MW to 25 MW from “Green” to “Orange” category during the construction phase and they should come under the Green category only at operational stage. Further, projects up to 5 MW should remain in Green category during construction and operation phase and only projects of less than 1 MW capacity be classified as nonpolluting and placed under the “White” category. Under reclassification of polluting industries as many as 36 industrial sectors have been brought under the non-polluting “White” category and the number has come down from 85 to 60 under Red category and from 86 to 63 under the “Green” category. The number of industrial under the “Orange” category has gone up from 73 to 83. Hydropower projects involve activities that have severe impact on environment like deforestation, construction of roads, structures to divert flow of streams, de-silting chambers, water conveyance tunnels or channels, power house, switch yards and transmission lines. This was the reason for SPCB demanding more stringent norms for these projects during the construction phase. A number of small projects on a stream, virtually coming up one over the other, is far more destructive than one big project as the entire catchment is disturbed due to spread of construction activity. A hydropower project site The fact that “stone crusher”, which has minimal environmental fallout compared to small hydropower projects, has been placed under the Orange category even under the revised classification, makes it obvious that the decision to put small hydropower projects in the “White “ category is irrational. A stone crusher involves an investment of around Rs 1.50 crore and its impact is localised as quarrying is confined to a small part of the hill leased out for the purpose. In contrast, hydropower projects of 25 MW require investment of over Rs 300 crore and generate huge debris, 3500 to 11000 cubic metre per megawatt, from excavations carried on steep slopes across the catchments. Moreover, all the hydropower projects involve mining, crushing by stone crushers and aggregate processing. Intense construction activity on fragile mountains has long term implications for environment, particularly destabilisation of slopes due to deforestation, unscientific excavations and improper disposal of debris. Further, large scale felling of trees and diversions of streams, which provide water for drinking and irrigation to the local people, have a severe socioeconomic impact. A former Principal Senior Environmental Engineer of SPCB, D.K.Sharma, who retired only last year explains that a number of small projects on a stream, virtually coming up one over the other, is far more destructive than one big project as the entire catchment is disturbed due to spread of construction activity. This is one of the major factors behind the plea of the SPCB for making the norms for small projects more stringent during construction phase by shifting them from “Green” to “Orange” category. A 100 MW project will essentially have a diversion structure, a tunnel or channel, de-silting tank, a power house and a switch yard. However, if five 20 MW projects are constructed in its place the catchment will be devastated as intensity of construction will increase five-fold. Approach roads will have to be constructed to access the sites of power house, diversion structures, tunnel portals, adits and other works for five projects. Further, by dismantling the consent mechanism the SPCB will not be in a position to effectively monitor the projects and enforce environmental norms. Earlier, all the issues were taken care of while granting “Consent to Operate” and it was mandatory to file the details of muck generated and its deposal with the board by 7th of every month. The board is also the nodal agency for enforcing the mandatory release of 15 percent water from diversion structures as environmental discharge. It has been conducting public hearings, an important part of the process for environment clearance which provides an opportunity to thrash out local issues. A lot of cases have been filed with the NGT and High Court regarding violation of environmental norms in respect projects up to 25 MW. Now that these projects have been brought under non-polluting category where the board will not have much role in enforcing environmental norms. In absence of consent mechanism there is no way to assess the impact and address the issues , such a situation the affected people will have no option but to stage protests and seek legal recourse, which will not help the cause of power developers. Some developed countries like Sweden and Norway have consciously decided not to harness 25 to 35 per cent their hydropower potential as environmental safeguard. Here environmental safeguards are being thrown to winds to draw private investment is hydropower. Another project site Chander Mohan Walia, Convenor of Forum of Hydropower Producers and Other Stake-holders for All River Basins, maintains that adverse fallout of hydropower projects can be best addressed by undertaking sustainability studies as was being done in other countries. The exercise helps to measure the sustainability of projects across a range of social, environmental, economic and technical considerations to help identify the best practises for planning, construction and operation of hydropower projects. Some developed countries like Sweden and Norway have consciously decided not to harness 25 to 35 per cent their hydropower potential as environmental safeguard. Here environmental safeguards are being thrown to winds to draw private investment is hydropower which is no longer attractive due to high generation cost and long gestation period. The push to solar energy has also hit the hydropower sector hard. While the cost of hydropower has increased sharply over the past decade and that of solar power has come down and now ranges between Rs 2.25 to Rs 3.25 per unit. The tariff for new hydro projects will work out to about Rs 6 per unit or more, while average spot price of electricity in the country was Rs 3.37 per unit. In such a scenario the downslide in hydropower is no surprise. Declining discharge in rivers, a consequence of climate change, is also affecting generation. The share of hydropower generation from large projects dipped below 10 per cent in 2016-17 for the first time since Independence and the trend continued in 2017-18. Over 1100 hydropower projects are either being implemented or in pipeline in the Himalayan region. In Himachal alone so far 148 projects with aggregate capacity of 10,534 MW have been commissioned, 63 projects of 2396 MW are under construction and 773 projects of 7935 MW are at various stages. The country has an installed hydropower capacity of about 45 Gigawatt, while a potential of around 100 Gigawatt is yet to be harnessed.