Etalin hydel project 

Etalin hydel project 

Subject :Geography

Section :Indian Physical Geography

Context: Denial of clearance to Etalin hydel project offers relief to some; may impact Arunachal’s hydropower development plan.

More in news:

• The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) did not limit its discussion to the Etalin project alone and involved other projects being executed and planned in the entire Dibang Valley.

Hydro projects in Arunachal Pradesh:

• Overall, 18 hydel projects with a cumulative capacity of 9,973 MW have been planned in the Dibang river valley, covered by the administrative districts of Dibang Valley and Lower Dibang Valley.
• Etalin Hydel Project:
  • 3,097-megawatt Etalin Hydroelectric Project (EHEP) — was proposed to be developed as a joint venture between Jindal Power Ltd and the Hydropower Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh Ltd.
  • The plan combined two run-of-the-river schemes with limited storage requiring concrete gravity dams on rivers Tangon and
  • The Etalin project is planned to be built about a 100-kilometre north of another mega project, the 2,880 MW Dibang multipurpose project (DMP).
  • The latter got Stage-II forest clearance in 2020, but work is yet to begin, as approval from the Public Investment Board is still pending.
  • It ran into several controversies since its inception in 2008 over concerns of ecological damage, forest invasion and tribal displacement.
• Major concerns include:
  1. It may submerge a large area of forest and wildlife habitat.
  2. Displacement of local communities
  3. It may change the natural flow of the river and affect the fish migration and breeding.
  4. Geological and seismic risks.

Dir and Tangon River:

• The Dir and Tangon river, both tributaries of the Dibang River (tributary of Brahmaputra) in Arunachal Pradesh, India, have the following significance:
  • Hydrological: Both rivers contribute to the overall hydrology of the region by providing water for irrigation and hydropower generation.
  • Ecological: The Dir and Tangon rivers support a diverse array of plant and animal life, including rare and endangered species.
  • Tourist Attraction: The scenic beauty of the Dir and Tangon rivers, along with the Dibang, is a major tourist destination.

Forest Advisory Committee

• It is a statutory body which was constituted by the Forest (Conservation) Act 1980.
• It comes under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• It considers questions on the diversion of forest land for non-forest uses such as mining, industrial projects, townships and advises the government on the issue of granting forest clearances. However, its role is advisory.