THE HINDU

Silent Valley Project

Silent Valley Project to be revived ;

The Hindu - July 20, 2001

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, JULY 19. The Silent Valley hydro-electric project, which had touched off a storm of protest in the State during 1978-80, is to be revived. The project, shelved in 1981 at the instance of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, is sought to be revived in the context of the rising cost of power generation in the State. The State Government has instructed the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to prepare the papers for putting up the project for the consideration of the Centre. The decision to seek revival of the project was announced by the Electricity Minister, Mr. Kadavoor Sivadasan, in the Assembly during question hour today. And his statement came as if on a cue from the former Electricity Minister, Mr. R. Balakrishna Pillai, who reminded the Minister that at the time of ordering shelving of the project, the Centre had promised to reconsider it 20 years later. His suggestion was that the project could be executed as a `run of the river' scheme. "Twenty years have lapsed and we must now revive it," Mr. Pillai said. Mr. Sivadasan conceded that there was indeed such a promise and informed the member. He said the Government could now consider the project afresh as new technologies for construction of sub- surface dams have been developed. Experts like the former Atomic Energy Commission chairman, Mr. P.K. Iyengar, had advised the Government that sub-surface dams could be the answer to forest denudation for implementation of hydel projects. He also termed as `mostly imaginary' fears about damage to environment on account of implementation of hydro-electric projects. ....

Renewed 'Save Silent Valley' call ;

The Hindu - July 24, 2001

....
Reacting to the current controversy surrounding the Kerala Electricity
Minister's avowed intention of resurrecting the hydro electric project,
Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman of the M.S.S. Research Foundation,
Chennai, who holds UNESCO's Cousteau Chair in Ecotechnololgy, has
stated that as Principal Secretary in the Union Agriculture Ministry,
holding charge of Forests, he visited Silent Valley in 1979 and
conducted a detailed study of the benefits and risks associated
with the proposed electricity project. In August that year, he proposed
that ``the entire area of 39,000 hectares consisting of Silent Valley,
New Amarambalam Forest, Kunda Forest and Attapadi Reserve Forest
should be developed into a National Rain Forest Biosphere Reserve''.

He also suggested alternative methods of obtaining the much-needed
electricity and water, adding: ``Every new source from which man has
increased his power on earth has been made at the cost of damage
to the environment, that he cannot repair and could not foresee''.
Based on Prof. Swaminathan's report, Indira Gandhi convened a meeting
in 1980, soon after she became Prime Minister, which was attended by the
then Kerala Chief Minister Mr. E.K. Nayanar.
....

``It is not clear to me what the new technology referred to by the
Minister for Construction of Subsurface Dams implies,'' Prof. Swaminathan
adds, ``In my view Kerala's future lies in health-and-eco-tourism.
This is an avenue that can be safeguarded only by protecting the
remaining forests and environment. Silent Valley is particularly
important for the conservation of Kerala's unique medicinal plant
wealth. I, therefore, reiterate my 1979 recommendation''.
....
The State Council of the Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) which
met in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday also sent a petition to the
Kerala Chief Minister requesting him to ``abandon the current move'',
suggesting that the hydel issue is ``being raked up for ulterior
motives''. The Parishad's letter adds: ``Kerala has more than enough
of other (energy) resources and there is no need to disturb
Silent Valley for this purpose''.
....