Make people shareholders in micro hydel projects in HP

Shimla, Dec 1 (UNI) Keeping in view the harmful effects of large number of hydel projects in Himachal Pradesh's ecology and its people, an NGO has demanded that people living in the vicinity of the projects should be made shareholders in development.

Speaking on the concluding session of ''Policy analysis Workshop for Central Himalayas'' here last evening, Social Uplift Through Rural Action (SUTRA) Director Subhash Mendhapurkar said the large number of micro hydel projects in the hilly states were leading to large-scale degradation of the state's ecology besides uprooting people from their ancestral houses and land.

''Since a number of people in the downstream areas were affected, they should thus be made shareholders in the projects also as one time compensation was not sufficient.

''Growth without Equity will not be sustainable,'' he said.

Mr Mendhapurkar also called upon the people to stop selling their land for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) being set up in several states of the country.

He also advocated for a Farmers Policy instead of an Agriculture Policy, which recognized the multiple livelihood activities supporting rural people.

During the workshop water, forest and agriculture policies of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh were analysed from people's perspective besides being shared with the government officials present at the workshop.

However, the delegates lamented the Himachal government's failure in ensuring NGO participation in policy making for water and agriculture management in the state.

UNI AS DP MQA KN1931