Prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), the report flashes a red light with regard to the hydroelectric projects that add up to 2,600 MW and make for about a tenth of all small and big dams on the anvil in the state.

NEW DELHI: A report commissioned by the government has recommended that 34 dams on the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers - the two main tributaries of the Ganga - should not be allowed to come up as they will cause irrevocable harm to biodiversity in Uttarakhand.

The health of rivers in Uttarakhand has deteriorated substantially due to violation of environment laws by various hydroelectric projects in the hill State. Important rivers such as the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda are either disappearing downstream of dams or are being used as dumping ground. Garbage dumped in the Tehri dam reservoir has made the Bhagirathi ‘untouchable’ for even local residents. In a letter written to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, T Chatterjee and member

The National Green Tribunal, (NGT) with its landmark pro-environment judgments, is emerging one of the strongest critics of the ministry of environment and forests.

In around 30 judgments it has given so far, the National Green Tribunal has been extremely critical of the lack of adequate environment impact assessments conducted by the MoEF prior to the granting of a clearance.

National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) has planned to set up two hydro power projects of total 400 mw capacity in Uttarakhand.

‘‘We are hopeful of setting up two projects with an aggregate capacity of 400 mw in Uttarakhand and are yet to sign a preliminary agreement with the state government,’’ NHPC chairman and managing director ABL Srivastava told reporters here on Wednesday.

The World Bank has agreed to provide $648-million loan to help build the Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric project on the Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand. The loan agreement for this amount was signed with THDC India Ltd (THDC) here on Wednesday.

This project is expected to generate an estimated 1,665 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year to help relieve India's chronic power shortage.