Discussion on Forest Rights Act at Nakthan, Parvati Valley

A meeting on Forest Rights Act (FRA) and forest diversion in the context of the proposed 520 MW Nakthan hydro-electricity project was conducted by Himdhara on December 28, 2013 in Nakthan Village in Parbati Valley. A valley which already houses the giant 800 MW Parbati II HEP is now making way for 520 MW Nakthan which would diverge more than 90 hectares of forest land.  In a scenario, where massive deforestation for 800 MW Parbati II downstream of Nakthan has cleared the once pristine dense forest, the locals are convinced that 520 MW Nakthan HEP would come with its own set of damages. The main affected Barshaini Gram panchayat containing Nakthan, Barshaini and Tosh villages, along with 7 other Gram Sabhas have passed multiple resolutions opposing the project, and have raised a series of concerns.

Some of the issues raised by the locals at the meeting are as follows:

1. The issue of environmental pollution and the dust emanating from construction activities and road construction for Parbati II continues till date. The problem of excessive dust in turn has damaged the crops and affected the process of pollination to a great extent, thus hitting the agricultural and apple productivity in the area.
2. The dumping yards for Parbati II have been constructed at multiple sites, illegally. Violation of environmental norms continues at the behest of project developers. The same might be replicated in case 520 MW Nakthan is what the locals fear.
3. As per HPPCL’s planning, the diversion tunnel would run underneath the source of Rudra Nag waterfall. This fact has extremely angered the locals since Rudra Nag waterfall is a site of social, cultural and religious significance not just for the inhabitants of Parbati Valley but the entire Kullu valley- famously referred to as “Valley of Gods”. The villagers continue to argue that if the diversion tunnel for 520 MW Nakthan is constructed, the extinction of Rudra Nag is well ensured.
4. Despite HPPCL having claimed to realign the tunnel in an effort to “save” Rudra Nag, the villagers are far from convinced. The heavy tunneling and blasting in the area for Parbati II and a series of other HEP in the same river, details of which remain ambiguous, have resulted in several problems, foremost being the drying up of natural springs. According to the data supplied by the State Irrigation and Public Health Department, 12 natural springs(chashmas/jahirus) have completely dried up and water discharge has significantly diminished in at least 10 others due to Parbati II. Drawing from the experience of Sainj Valley, one of the villagers stated that such is the situation in Sainj Valley that even the schemes of IPH Department are now failing. Given the acute shortage of water in the region and virtually a waterless river, the water is now being fetched from far off areas. The fear of impacts of high intensity explosions is greater among those residing close to the tunneling sites proposed for 520 MW Nakthan.

Despite having conducted series of meetings with HPPCL authorities to voice their opposition to the project,  pre-construction activities for the project have already begun. This all has happened without a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from any of the affected panchayats. Looking at Forest Department’s own data from 1981 to 2012, more than 10,000 hectares of forest land on which people had user rights, has been diverted for hydropower, mining, roads, and other projects. Given the case where individual and community rights have been well documented under the Forest Settlement processes of the past,  ironically, diversion of forest land for most projects continues without the mandatory consent of Gram Sabhas, as required by the Ministry of Environment’s circular dated 3^rd August, 2009. The 520 MW Nakthan could prove to be just another addition to the list. Little efforts have been made by the state government to implement the Forest Rights Act in true spirit and with rights not having been recognized even in the tribal areas of Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba and Kinnaur where the process of FRA implementation had been initiated in the year 2008. In the context of Himachal Pradesh, where certificates stating “no pending claims under FRA 2006” issued by the DCs are now recognized by MoEF instead of NOC’s from the affected Gram Sabhas,  raises serious doubts about the intention of the State Government to seriously implement FRA, irrespective of its political affiliation.[1]

Given this context , Himdhara felt it was pertinent to organise a meeting with the villagers at Nakthan, which is likely to be the most severely hit village from the proposed project, to inform them and have a conversation  about Forest Rights Act, their potential individual and community rights under FRA, mechanisms available to raise their concerns and most importantly the role of gram sabhas. The timing of the meeting was important because the Gram Sabha of the Barshaini Gram Panchayat had been called on the 29^th December, 2013 specifically on the issue of granting no-objection to the Nakthan Project. Resource material pertaining to Forest Rights Act, the process of  forest clearance and the relevant FRA provisions was distributed and discussed in great detail with about 20 villagers who were present and participated actively in the meeting.

Two days later, at the Gram Sabha at Barshaini, the villagers of Nakthan and Tosh villages vehemently shot down the proposal for granting no objection to Nakthan project, despite the palpable inclination of the Gram Panchayat Pradhan to the contrary. In light of their opposition to Nakthan hydro-electricity project, the people of Nakthan have been advised to call a village level Gram Sabha with at least 50% of voters in the village attend and pass a resolution citing specific sections (5 and 3(1)(i) of FRA to oppose any project related pre-construction activity and the forest diversion process.