3 days ago
8
ARTICLE AD BOX
Sixteen years after granting environmental clearance (EC) to the 1,750 MW Demwe Lower Project on the Lohit River in Arunachal Pradesh, an expert panel of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has now held that the EC will be valid for another 11 years, till 2037, on the grounds that the project was stuck in litigation for over 10 years.
The expert appraisal committee (EAC) on river valley and hydroelectric projects made this decision in its January 9 meeting, relying on a combination of notifications giving relaxations to hydel projects and a key October 2025 office memorandum (OM), which treats time lost to litigation in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or courts as ‘zero period’.
In the case of the Demwe Lower Project, current developers Greenko Demwe Power Limited (Greenko Group) argued that it had lost over 7.5 years and 3.5 years due to litigation in the NCLT and National Green Tribunal (NGT), respectively.
The panel, however, appears to have overlooked a key detail. The NGT matter—an appeal against the project’s forest clearance—did not merely stall the project, but culminated in the Tribunal setting aside the project’s wildlife clearance. It was this nod that formed the basis for the forest clearance. It directed the National Board of Wildlife to reconsider the issue, while suspending the forest clearance in the interim. The project was appraised and given wildlife clearance again in 2018.
The NGT had ruled against then environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan’s decision to clear the project by overruling the views of expert members of the National Board for Wildlife without proper reason. The experts had opposed the project for its potential impact on the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Assam.
The ministry’s 2025 OM, while rationalising time lost to litigation as ‘zero period’, is silent on whether this process should apply when judicial orders have struck down related project clearances. The EAC also suggested no fresh baseline environmental or biodiversity studies for the project, which is planned in the Lohit riverine ecosystem and upstream of the significant Hindu pilgrimage site Parshuram Kund.
Under the EIA notification, fresh baseline studies are only sought for fresh appraisal of projects, and there is a fixed validity for baseline studies only at the stage when a project is still under scrutiny for the grant of a green nod.
Story continues below this ad
Prior to the 2025 OM, projects that had not started work on ground within an EC’s validity period were to be considered ‘de novo’ or afresh for an EC grant. The ‘zero period’ dispensation was brought ostensibly to reduce further delays ‘for no fault’ on the project proponent’s part, and to rationalise the loss of time.
The project’s EC, granted originally in February 2010, was valid till 2020. However, based on a 2022 notification which holds ECs for hydel projects valid for 13 years due to their long gestation period, and a 2022 OM, which allows EC validity to be counted from the issuing date of final forest clearance or a maximum of two years, whichever is lesser, the Demwe project’s green nod validity was counted from February 2012. This kept its EC valid till February 2025. Further, the project had also received a Covid-period relaxation of one year, thus taking the validity up to February 2026.
When The Indian Express contacted EAC chairperson Professor Govind Chakrapani of IIT-Roorkee and asked about the older baseline studies, he said, “We did discuss the issue concerning earlier baseline studies with the project proponent, and since there has been no change on the ground in the land use, the baseline data will not be impacted”.
On questions regarding the relaxation granted on account of the NGT litigation, which had set aside the wildlife clearance and suspended the forest clearance, Chakrapani requested to speak to the member secretary, Yogendra Pal Singh.
Story continues below this ad
When contacted, Singh said, “I cannot comment more than what has been mentioned in the minutes of the EAC meeting.”
About the project
* The project spanning Anjaw and Lohit districts will see the construction of a 162.12 m tall concrete gravity dam across the Lohit River. 1,416 hectares of forest land will be diverted, and 1,589.97 hectares will be submerged
* The Lohit basin and Kamlang Tiger Reserve, upstream of the project, serve as a crucial habitat for the critically endangered White-Bellied Heron. While the EAC had itself recommended a detailed conservation plan for the avian species in 2020, the January 2026 meeting did not feature any discussion on biodiversity, as per the minutes of the meeting
* As per Greenko’s submissions, Demwe Lower is the lowermost scheme/stage on the allotted river stretch of the 3,000 MW hydel project
From 2010 to 2025: A timeline
Story continues below this ad
* The Union Environment Ministry grants environmental clearance in February 2010, which is originally valid for 10 years
* National Board for Wildlife approval in February 2012
* In-principal or Stage-I Forest clearance granted in March 2012, final forest clearance granted in May 2013.
* Assam-based environmentalist appeals against forest clearance in NGT, status quo on tree felling directed in April 2014
* In October 2017, NGT dismisses appeal against forest clearance but orders reconsideration of wildlife clearance; suspends forest clearance in the interim
Story continues below this ad
* Athena Demwe Power Ltd, the initial developer, enters insolvency proceedings before NCLT in September 2017
* NBWL grants clearance again in 2018
* In March 2020, EAC recommends to extend validity of EC for three years
* In March 2025, the NCLT-approved resolution plan is submitted by Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd.
* In August 2025, name of special project vehicle changed from Athena Demwe Power Ltd to Greenko Demwe Power Ltd (GDPL)
Story continues below this ad
* In November 2025, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change approves transfer of EC in the name of GDPL
English (US) ·