After NGT notice, Govt forest panel seeks report on Arunachal projects

THE ENVIRONMENT Ministry’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has sought a report within three weeks about the compliance status on conditions stipulated for forest clearances granted in the past for hydroelectric projects in Arunachal Pradesh.

This comes after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) took “suo motu notice” of an investigative report by The Indian Express on how two key hydel power projects in Arunachal were among six mega initiatives in the country, between 2004 and 2020, where stringent conditions to compensate for the high environmental impact were sidestepped, ignored or met only on paper.