Project Gets Green Light, Trees Get Red Alert,1.35 Lakh at Risk in Arunachal

An Expert Appraisal Committee of the Union Environment Ministry has recommended environmental clearance for the proposed Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project in Arunachal Pradesh, even as it flagged concerns over the substantial number of trees that could be felled for the project. The run of the river hydro power project, planned in the Subansiri basin, would require the diversion of 2,733 hectares of forest land. According to the minutes of the EAC meeting, approximately 1,35,733 trees would have to be felled if the project proceed. The recommendation does not itself amount to the final environmental clearance. The project final clearance will be subject to Stage I forest clearance, an in principle approval required from the Centre for diversion of forest land under the Forest frame work. EAC Flags Ecological Impact While considering the project, the EAC highlighted the potential consequences of the proposed tree felling. The committee noted that the loss of such a substantial number of trees could affect forest structure, habitat continuity, biodiversity and wildlife movement, along with ecosystem services provided by the forest. That puts the project in a familiar development-versus-environment debate: hydropower infrastructure promises additional energy and development, while its construction can place pressure on forests and wildlife habitats. 2,733 Hectares of Forest Land in Question The scale of the proposed forest diversion is one of the key environmental issues surrounding SUHEP. With 2,733 hectares of forest land involved, the project must clear another important regulatory hurdle before the environmental approval process can be completed. The proposed felling of 1.35 lakh plus trees also makes the forest clearance component particularly significant. Green Clearance, With a Big Environmental Footnote The EAC recommendation moves the project another step through the regulatory process, but its own observation underline the ecological questions that remain. For a project requiring thousands of hectares of forest diversion and the potential removal of more than a lakh trees, the next stages of approval will determine how environmental safe guard, compensatory measure and forest related conditions are addressed. For now, SUHEP has received a recommendation for environmental clearance not an unconditional final green light. The forest clearance process remains a crucial part of what happens next.