STAFF REPORTER
Guwahati: In a major development that could rile environmentalists, public sector behemoth National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) has sought Union Environment Ministry's clearance to divert 3,278 hectares of forest lands in Arunachal Pradesh for its proposed Kamala hydroelectric project.
As per information, the Union Environment Ministry's Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), tasked with granting approvals for diversion of forest lands for non-forest work, will discuss the issue on Friday.
And if approved, the diversion will entail a felling of 23.4 lakh trees across three districts of the mountainous state.
It may be mentioned that whenever forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, an equivalent patch of non-forest land must be found locally for afforestation.
But, as Arunachal Pradesh already has a high forest cover, the Forest Conservation Act allows fulfilling the compensatory afforestation obligations on non-forest land in other states which have less forest cover.
Among the many hydel projects planned in the Subansiri river basin, the proposed Kamala hydroelectric project seeks to harness waters of the Kamala river, which is a tributary of the Subansiri river.
When complete, the proposed project will have a capacity to produce 1,720 MW of power, NHPC sources said.
The total cost of the project has been pegged at approximately Rs 2,400-crore.
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