Q 15: What are the benefits that accrue to the State from the project?
A : The State will get about 11 percent of the actual generation (about 165 Megawatt and 406 Mega Unit) free. If evaluated in terms of money, the income may be about Rs. 80 crores per year.

- Allocated annual share of energy is 550 MU. In addition, it can purchase more clean power at affordable price if the demand so calls for.
- The supply and demand gap will be narrowed down when the cheap power is available.
- The State will appear in the National Grid map when 440 KV transmission line is strung between the Power Plant and Imphal.
- Voltage profile will be improved to reliable level.
- Road connectivity will be improved substantially when NH 53, NH 150 and Man Bahadur Road are upgraded as an integral part of the project.
- Waterway to the extent of about 360 kms will be available for the villagers located near the reservoir.
- Relief to the extent of about Rs. 35 crores per year against flood damage in the fertile Barak Valley is assured.
- The reservoir could produce about 2,700 MT of fish annually which may yield a benefit of about Rs. 7 crores in terms of money.
- Attractive tourist-cum-recreation centres with all water sports including fishing shall be developed at specific locations including the Barak Fall and Zeilad Lakes. This will generate employment in both private and public sectors.
- Townships and market centres shall come up on the National Highways with indirect assistance from the project.
This will facilitate the vegetable growers of the Tamenglong and Churachandpur districts to a great extent.
- Illegal trading of forest produces shall be checked.
- Deforestation may be checked substantially when thermal and light energy requirements of the villagers are met out of the electricity supply.
- Both small and large scale industries will come up in Manipur, giving employment opportunities to several unemployed youths.

Q 16: What is the list of items inside the Rehabilitation and Resettlement package?
A: Rehabilitation and Resettlement package has three components namely, i) Compensation, ii) Physical Rehabilitation and iii) Economic Rehabilitation. Each component contains different items as given below:

i) Compensation:
- Land for resettlement
- Land for agricultural activities
- Standing crops & trees
- Compensatory afforestation
ii) Physical Rehabilitation:
- Site development of village land
- Residential houses and associated amenities
- Cattle / Poultry sheds
- Agricultural & Horticultural land
- Transportation and displacement grants
- Rehabilitation grant
- Church, village community halls, schools, post office, market sheds, hospital, veterinary service, road, power, water supply, sanitation & sewage, park and playground.
iii) Economic Rehabilitation:
- Agricultural sector, horticultural sector, dairy, poultry, piggery, gaotary, weaving and grocery and agricultural store.

Q 17: How is the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) action plan implemented?
A : For the implementation of R&R action plan under the directives of the Hon’ble Courts, a Committee shall be constituted under the Chairmanship of concerned District Revenue Authority.

The Committee shall have representatives from the State Government, implementing agency and village authorities, nominated by the Chairman. The Committee shall deliver the package to the affected population in phases.

All efforts will be made to complete the R&R process of the affected villagers before the project is complete. The directives of the Hon’ble Courts as applied to similar hydro electric projects in other parts of the country shall strictly be followed. The villagers may also extend full cooperation to the Committee to achieve the goal in time through mutual understanding.

Q 18: It is felt that the environmental degradation would be quite substantial when the construction of the project takes place and the impact would affect the bio-diversity and ecological integrity of the area. How do we go about it?
A : It is true that all development activities exploit the surrounding natural resources and in the process cause an impact on the environment.

However, keeping in view the objective of substantial development, the developers always design an integral approach which can satisfy the basic human needs in an equitable manner and at the same time promote social, cultural and biological diversity and ecological integrity of the system.

The same principle and construction methodology shall be adopted in case of Tipaimukh Hydro Electric (Multi) Project also to minimize the degradation and impact. The guideline stipulated in the Constitution, Legislation and verdicts of the Hon’ble Courts in respect of Narmada River Development Project and Tehri Dam Project etc shall be strictly followed.

Moreover, more than half of the river course that will be submerged has narrow and deep gorge and as a result, the area to be affected is very small. A vast forest, enveloping the reservoir area is also readily available, for the convenience of flora and fauna.

Generally in Manipur, project or no project, mass deforestation to which the environmental degradation is largely attributed, continues unabated. The deforestation will get reduced when illegal trading of forest produces is controlled. With project, the environmental management is easier.

Q 19: Social and cultural bondage may be dislocated because of wide separation among villages. What are the remedial measures to be taken to uphold the age old heritage / tradition?
A: The social and cultural bondage of a community is always given respect by all. The project is not going to affect or pose any threat to the existing social and cultural bondage.

It will be the serious attempt of the developers to make arrangement for the Rehabilitation and Resettlement of the villagers who are likely to be displaced, at a suitable area away from the reservoir but close to the original homestead.

It may also be mentioned that nowadays, the educated people from the remote villages come to the urban areas to find employment or a job and settle at a convenient place of their choice away from their home or village.

This is the normal practice in this modern age. But they do not forget their social and cultural traditions and maintain the bondage. Therefore, separation/displacement by few hundred metres may not cause any harm or lost to the heritage and tradition of the community.

Q 20: Why do not we go for several Medium Scale Projects along the basin instead of a High Dam mega project?
A: Hydro power pro-jects, small or big, normally have similar components and procedures to be followed from concep- tualization to commissioning are also same. Therefore, the developers may find the following when it goes for several medium scale projects in the Barak Basin.

- Infrastructure will be more;
- Problems multiply;
- Cost involvement will be more;
- Time taken will be more;
- Impact will be more;
- Cost of generation may be comparatively high.

Lastly, when products or goods are abundantly available and also the trains to deliver the goods to the market centres or consumers, the service of the trucks may not be required. It is not advisable from economic point of view.

Q 21: Small hydro power plants may be a suitable substitute for a mega dam. Financial implication is less, gestation period is short and environmental impact is negligible. Why is this option, then?
A: The small hydro power plants which play the role of kitchen garden may be developed at the potential sites for giving power supply to the hamlet villages to which transmission lines can not be extended for economic reasons. In this connection, the Govt. of Manipur has already framed ‘Renewable Energy Policy’ in September 2006.

Under this policy, the Manipur Renewable Development Agency (MANIREDA) has been assigned with the development of small hydro power resources in the State expeditiously under a time frame. The simple idea behind this initiative is that the State should have both small and large industries wherever feasible.

Q 22: The power requirement for Manipur will be around 500 MW only in another 10 yrs. Why should then we go for a 1500 MW project which may cause lot of submergence and damage to the State?
A: As already mentioned earlier, power generation should be treated as an industry for the State of Manipur. From the proposed project, Manipur can earn an income of about Rs. 100 crores every year besides other benefits in terms of connectivity and employment generation.

For instance, Punjab, Haryana, UP and Andhra Pradesh produce rice that we are taking here. Maharashtra and other States produce clothes which we use here and also 90 pc of the fish and eggs we consume here are from Andhra Pradesh alone.

Therefore, it is necessary that we also produce what we can sell to earn income and utilize it in some other development works. Himachal Pradesh’s economy is based mainly on power generation and sale of apple.

Q 23: Any special package for villages in and around the project?
A: Employment opportunity for 75 pc of the total regular posts at the level of the junior engineer and below will be filled from the resident of Manipur through employment exchange for general candidate and direct for the affected people.

- Opportunities for Working State Engineer to join NEEPCO.
- About 4000 unskilled local workers to be engaged during peak construction period.
- Other indirect employment opportunities.
- Contract works other that those highly technical may be awarded to the local contractors.
- Special offer to the displaced villagers as decided from time to time by State Government according to their socio-economic condition.

Q 24: What are the number of villages likely to be displaced and population in it?
A: Only 8 (eight) villages consisting of 226 houses shall be displaced. About 68.08 hectares of paddy land may be submerged. The total population affected is about 1475 only. Their resettlement and rehabilitation have been assured by the project.

Q 25: Manipur belongs to Zone V of the Seismological Map of India. Does it not pose any threat to the safety of the dam?
A: Technology is available now to design any type of dam which has factor of safety. The governing factor is the economic/cost factor. The safety of the dam is checked in a simulator.

A model of the dam which is made of the construction materials having similar properties with that of the materials to be used at the actual dam, is used for testing and it is subjected to the desired range of vibration to observe the behaviour of the dam.

In case of a failure, the design is modified. The design shall be accorded clearance after it can withstand the external forces coming out of natural seismicity and reservoir induced seismicity.

If necessary, views of the international experts on design and construction of dam shall be sought for. Micro Earthquake Stations (MES) and Piezometers shall be installed at suitable locations including the body of the dam, to regularly monitor the scale of vibrations and pressure exerted on the dam. Moreover, all precautionary measures shall be taken to avoid any sort of risk.

Q 26: What about the geology of the site where the dam is coming up?
A : Geological Survey of India (GSI) has done extensive geological investigation at the proposed location of the dam. Their recommendations have shown that the soil/rock condition available in and around the project site is favourable.

Nevertheless, the service of geo-physicist and foundation engineers shall be acquired during the construction of the dam to ensure risk free construction.

Q 27: Any steps taken to eradicate water borne diseases that come into existence to the reservoir?
A: All kinds of preventive measures shall be taken to see that water borne diseases are not borne in the reservoir. The service of the scientists and doctors who are expert in this field and Social Preventive (Community) Medicines shall be requisitioned before hand at the cost of the project in order to ensure that outbreak of any type of epidemic caused by water borne diseases is possibly checked in time through proper chemical and medicinal treatments.

The State Government may also remain vigilant to control outbreak of malaria epidemic to which the reservoir area is prone and also to meet any eventuality under different programmes including National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP).

Q 28: There is a need for preserving historical monuments, religious places, hot water spring, mineral deposits etc in the project area. How do we go for it?
A: As per the findings of the State Archeological Department, there is no historical monument or religious place in the area likely to be submerged by the reservoir. Similarly, hot water spring and mineral deposits are also not found in and around the area to be inundated.

However, it will be seen that the monuments or religious places if any (even if not recorded in the State’s list) shall be properly preserved at a suitable locations with the consent/understanding of the villages to which they belong. The entire expenditure shall be borne by the project.

Q 29: How many projects of such magnitudes are coming up in the NER?
A: The NER alone has the hydro power potential of more than 30,000 MW at 60 pc load factor. Many of the sites are located in Arunachal Pradesh and all are at different stages of Survey & Investigation. Both the NHPC and NEEPCO are going to develop more than 10 (ten) projects of capacity more than 1000 MW each.

The ultimate aim of the Ministry of Power, Government of India is to increase the present hydro-thermal mix ratio of 20:80 to 40:60 so that the integrated operation for a stable power supply is successfully achieved in the National Grid System.

Q 30: Can the project be implemented under State sector?
A: Manipur is a Special Category State. So, it does not have the adequate resource (Rs. 7000.00 crores) required for funding such type of mega project. The Government of India also does not provide fund for such projects under Normal Plan Assistance. Therefore, there is a need for finding out a resourceful funding agency / investor for this project. In the process, the investor may have its reservation on the following:

- Credential and credibility of the implementing agency;
- Confidence level to handle such a mega project;
- Manpower management;
- Financial management for a project of this magnitude;
- Financial discipline and risk factors;
- Ability to repay the loan with interest;
- Guarantee for the loan;
- Local labour and their sincerity;
- Ground reality and conducive atmosphere for working.

Perhaps, all the vital issues about the project are discussed and made clear to everybody now and the choice or decision will however be yours.

Read Part 1 | Part 2