Southern States - Kerala   

Fresh proposal for Pooyamkutty project

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM Dec. 7. An ecologocal impact assessment (EIA) of the Kerala State Electricity Board's Pooyamkutty Hydroelectric Project (PHP), conducted by the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI), may pave the way for the revival of the project, which was almost dropped due to environmental concerns.

The EIA report has been submitted to the office of the Electricity Minister and is expected to be forwarded to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for clearance. The EIA team comprised the director of TBGRI, G.M. Nair, as principal investigator, Pandurangan, head of the Plan Systematic and Evolution Science, Babu Ambat of the Centre for Environment and Development and M. Balakrishnan of the Kerala University's Department of Zoology.

The thrust of the report is to reduce the mean sea level (MSL) height of the dam from 338 metres to 300 metres.

The EIA task was entrusted to the TBGRI after the KSEB had expressed willingness to consider the environmental aspects through a reduction in the height of the dam

As per the 1998 assessment, the PHP across the Pooyamkutty river in Idukki district would be a 240 MW power generation project at an estimated cost of Rs. 820 crores, with two dams having a full-reservoir level of 1,226 million cubic metres after submerging 2,668.80 hectares.

As early as 1977, a study conducted by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History had recommended that the project be rejected in order to conserve the area in totality. It said the project posed a threat of submergence of vast areas that were rich in flora and fauna. It was on the basis of this report that the PHP was thought to have been virtually dropped.

However, the TBGRI report states that if the MSL height of the dam is restricted to 300 metres, the negative impact on land, vegetation, wildlife and habitat could be reduced by about 50 per cent in addition to various other advantages. The submergible area would come down from 2,668.80 hectares to 1,351.27 hectares. Moreover, the power generation capacity of the PHP would only get marginally reduced, by 9 per cent, if the height of the dam was brought down as recommended.

The report states that the Pooyamkutty region is a mosaic of vegetation and rich wildlife. The vegetation comprises 736 species of flowering plants and 95 known medicinal herbs. The wildlife includes 105 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, 23 species of large mammals and 38 species of fishes. These would comprise rare and endemic species like the Malabar tree nymph, giant red eye butterflies, Malabar grey hornbill, leopard and the dusky striped squirrel in addition to elephants. There are also 24 human settlements consisting of both tribal and non-tribal population in the catchment area.

According to the report, if the project coming up at the MSL height of 300 metres, the construction of the saddle dam at Kumpanpara can be avoided and the construction of a road from Pooyamkutty to Kumpanpara through the forest would not be required. The patch of evergreen forests at Kundrapuzha could be saved from submergence. The resettlement compensation can also be brought down since the settlement and cultivation areas in the project site would come down from 92.87 hectares to just 3.51 hectares.

The report suggests formation of a Catchment Area Treatment Plan involving regeneration and enrichment of vegetative cover, and soil and water conservation during construction of the project in order to offset the negative impacts. The Plan should be an integral part of the project and has to be strictly monitored through the constitution of an Environment Monitoring Committee to assess the environment during pre and post commissioning phases of the project.

The TBGRI claims in the report that the study had been conducted in accordance with EIA procedures after critically analaysing various components of physical and biological environment within the proposed project area.

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