Dibru-Saikhowa National Park

Guwahati, Aug. 14: The standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife has fast-tracked four projects in Assam by giving them forest clearance.

The projects were in a limbo for a number of years as they were being held back because of forest clearance. Projects, which are lying within 10km of a protected area have to get clearance from the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife, a statutory body under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. The board is headed by the Prime Minister.

The projects are important for Assam as they are from the power, oil and flood management sectors.

Assam chief wildlife warden R.P. Agarwalla was present in the meeting, held on August 12-13 in New Delhi.

One of the projects — 60MW Chandrapur thermal power unit — is important for Guwahati, which can save the capital city from its power woes.

“We told the committee that this is an old project, which is now being refurbished and is important for the power sector,” Agarwalla told The Telegraph. The proposal was for refurbishment of the Chandrapur Thermal Power Plant using coal-based boilers by replacing existing oil-fired boilers within 10km from the boundary of Amchang and Pobitora wildlife sanctuary. The proposal has been recommended by the State Board for Wildlife.

The 60MW thermal power plant is now being revived under the public-private partnership mode with Imperial Energy and Construction Private Limited as the private partner.

There has been criticism of the newly constituted National Board for Wildlife and many green activists, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have sought his intervention in the matter after the government decided to appoint only three independent members when a new board was reconstituted.

The 47-member board is mandated by the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 to include five members of non-governmental organisations and 10 independent members, including environmentalists, conservationists and ecologists.

The second proposal was of Oil India Limited to use of 304.15 hectares of non-forest land within 10km of the boundary of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Bherjan-Borajan-Padumoni wildlife sanctuary for expansion of gas field development in Tengakhat-Naharkotia-Jorajan area, Tinsukia-Dhola area and Doomdooma-Pengeri in Assam.

A two-member committee was constituted by the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife last year for looking into setting up of oil and gas pipelines near protected areas by Oil India Limited in Upper Assam. It recommended that, rather than levy a one-time penalty for this violation, OIL be enlisted to provide financial and in-kind support on a rolling basis to the Assam forest department for a specific term to further conservation of Dibru-Saikhowa National Park and Borajan-Bherjan-Podumoni wildlife sanctuary.

Sources said the committee approved these projects as it had cleared mitigation measures suggested by experts.

The other two projects cleared are use of 2.3 hectares of Dirok tea garden land situated within 10km from the boundary of Dehing-Patkai wildlife sanctuary for drilling an appraisal well by Hindustan Oil Corporation Limited and strengthening of embankment under an ADB project in Kaziranga National Park.