MoEF nixes HP government's proposal on Renuka dam

The union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has rejected the Himachal Pradesh government's proposal to divert 775 hectares of forest land for the Rs3,300-crore Renuka dam in Sirmaur district, as the project would involve axing a large number of trees.

The project, for which an agreement was signed in the early nineties, is aimed at providing water supply to meet the needs of Delhi, besides generation of 40 MW of hydel power.

Stakeholders in the project include the northern states of UP, Rajasthan and Haryana in addition to Himachal Pradesh and Delhi that are its major stakeholders.

Tarun Kapoor, managing director of Himachal Power Corporation, which is implementing the project, confirmed having received the letter from the ministry. He added that the corporation had already initiated a fresh process under which a new survey would be carried out and certain areas excluded.

He said the process might take another two months. However, work on the project was continuing in full swing and the corporation would approach the ministry again with a new proposal.

The project had been waiting for a clearance from the Supreme Court-appointed centrally-empowered committee since nearly 40 per cent of the land needed for it falls under the category of forest, and of which close to 50 hectare is under the Renuka Wildlife Sanctuary.