New Delhi: In a move that may avert further tensions over the delicate Himalayan ecosystem and the upper reaches of the Ganga river in Uttarakhand, the Center on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it is “not in favor of allowing any new hydropower project in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins” apart from the seven that have either become operational or have made substantial progress in construction.The Centre’s view was expressed by the Environment Ministry through an affidavit in the Supreme Court, which is examining the issue of allowing new hydropower projects in the upper reaches of the Ganga river basins since the 2013 Kedarnath disaster.The decision means the Center will now go ahead with only seven of the 28 projects already planned and examined by various committees. The Center told the Supreme Court that the risk/damage to the environment, including river health, outweighs the financial/economic benefits of the remaining 21 hydro-power projects with a total capacity of about 2,100 MW.

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It is expected that the Supreme Court will pass its order on this issue in the next hearing on August 20. In January, it had given the Center three months to take a final decision.Of the seven projects the government wants to pursue, four are already operational – Tehri Stage-II (1000 MW), Singoli Bhatwari (99 MW), Madmaheshwar (15 MW) and Kaliganga-II (4.5 MW) – and three, Tapovan Vishnugad (520 MW), Vishnugad Pipalkoti (444 MW) and Phata Byung (76 MW), are in advanced stages of construction. The affidavit, representing a “collective and unanimous decision” of the three ministries – Jal Shakti, Power and Environment – argued that all seven “may be allowed to proceed subject to strict compliance with the applicable statutory provisions and environmental safeguards”.Better understanding has been achieved: Green activistsIt is good to see that better understanding has emerged and the government has taken this wise and welcome step to prevent future tragedies like 2013 and protect the fragile and disaster-prone ecology of the Ganga-Himalayan basin,” said Mallika Bhanot of Ganga Awahaan, a citizens’ platform working towards the conservation of the Ganga and the Himalayan ecosystem. The decision not to build any new hydro-electric projects in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basins was taken after inter-ministerial consultations on the recommendations of various expert committees. One committee wanted 28 projects to be allowed in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins, while the other committee, comprising officials from the Jal Shakti and Environment ministries, recommended only five.