FAC to take call on Arunachal Pradesh’s Etalin Hydroelectric Project

The Union Environment Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) held a meeting recently to consider a proposal for diversion of 1,165.66 hectares of forest land in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley for the construction of the 3097-MW Etalin Hydroelectric Project.The Etalin Hydro Electric Power Company is a joint venture of Hydro Power Development Corporation of Arunachal Pradesh and Jindal Power (JPL) and the project was to be developed the cost of about ₹25,296.95 crore.The project will involve felling of over 2.8 lakh trees in dense subtropical, evergreen, broad-leaved forest and subtropical rain forest according to a factsheet submitted to the FAC on April 21, 2020.The FAC has heard the proposal four times so far — on January 28, 2015, February 28, 2017, October 17, 2019 and April 23, 2020. Following widespread criticism by scientists and environmentalists, the committee had deferred its decision on the project, but heard the proposal again recently.As per reports, scientists from 16 research institutes wrote to the FAC stating that a fresh assessment of the region’s biodiversity must be conducted before the project is given approval.