New Delhi: a panel of experts from the Ministry of Environment has given conditional approval to the amendment in the Green settlement To resume the construction of the 1,200 MW of Sikkim Teesta hydroelectric project Stage III, which was destroyed by sudden floods linked to a burst of the glacial lake in October 2023.
One of the key amendments includes the redesign of the dam and replace the ‘rock filling dam with a concrete face’ previous with a ‘seriously concrete dam’ that, according to the project, the proponent is a “much more resistant structure , minimizing the possibility of failure of the dam due to -Cubierta “.
However, the panel, while making its wink to the project, on January 10, put an environmental condition: “All the necessary permits of the Central Electricity Authority (CEA)/Central Water Commission (CWC) or any other agency with Regarding the design of the project and other security, the parameters will be obtained before starting the construction work of the project. “
In response to an observation made by the panel at its previous meeting on the design and stability of the dam, the project developer Sikkim Urja Ltd (Sul) said that, in addition to the redesign, it was taking other measures, including the improvement of the ability of the damage of the dam and the implementation of the early alert system, to make the project resist the possible natural disasters in the future.
The project, located on the Teesta Principal River in the Mangan district, was commissioned in February 2017 and was in successful operation until October 4, 2023, when it faced a sudden flood that caused the washing of the dam and flood of the underground. Powerhouse that leads to the arrest of its operations.
From underground power, electromechanical equipment and most project components can be restored to their original condition in approximately 10-12 months, the proponent sought the amendment in the elimination of the environment to return it in operation in the earliest.
The minutes of the meeting that cleared the required amendments observed four key observations made by the panel that include the need for an exhaustive review of the proposed modifications to guarantee the structural resistance and security of the dam, particularly given the susceptibility of the region A extreme hydrological events.
In response, the project proponent said: “A comprehensive study has been carried out for the identification of possible threats due to glacial lakes.”
