Narmada Samachar: 10 January 2002

   ....                      
   People in Tehri have renewed their agitation by staging sit-in
   strikes and protest demonstrations demanding restoration of civic
   amenities including construction of a temporary bridge. The agitation
   has affected work on construction of the controversial 2400-MW Tehri
   hydel project for the past four days, officials said.
   ....

   ...
   With the closure of the two diversion tunnels last week there is
   hope that work on the Tehri dam will end soon. From Rs 200 crore
   to a whopping Rs 5,500 crore, the cost of the 2400 mw controversial
   multipurpose Tehri Project has escalated many fold over the years
   doing little to change the jinxed fate of the dam ever since it was
   conceptualised in early 1970s. But after the closure of two diversion
   tunnels last week, a new ray of hope has emerged to finish the
   remaining construction work of the dam whose fate had mainly hinged
   on the vexed rehabilitation issue, a real bone of contention between
   the people of the 186-year-old town and the state government.
   ...

    The issues raised by environmental struggles remain much too important
    to be frittered away. This is why protest movements bear a responsibility
    greater than what their leaderships may realise.

    ...
    THE Accountant-General (Accounts and Entitlement), Gujarat, has
    said that the State Government is guilty of financial irregularities
    up to Rs 2,971.67 crore. This is as of March 2000.

    The former Chief Minister, Mr Chhabildas Mehta, in separate communiques
    to the State Governor, Mr Sunder Sinh Bhandari, and the Comptroller
    andAuditor-General (CAG) of India, said that amount was closer to
    Rs 4,000 crore one year hence.
    ...

    ...
    The World Bank has decided to terminate the $437 million loan to the
    state-owned Nathpa Jhakri Hydro-Electric Power Corporation (NJPC)
    midway thereby putting a questionmark on the future of the 1,500 MW
    hydel project being executed by the company in Himachal Pradesh.
    ...

Anil Agarwal, visionary founder and leader of the Centre for Science and
Environment (CSE), passed away on January 2, 2002, after a seven-year
battle against cancer. The world has not only lost a rare thinker and
advocate dedicated to improving the environment, but also a staunch
supporter of the rights of the poor, and of social justice.

Anilji's thinking and analysis was always far-sighted. His pioneering
work taught people in India and the world to look at environmental and
developmental concerns as related, where one could not be compromised to
address the other. Always full of energy, he was never one to be cowed
down by the system, taking problems head-on, analysing them with incisive
clarity, coming up with the most effective and clear solutions, and then
working untiringly to have them implemented. His vision and perception
shaped an institution that uses the power of knowledge as an effective
agent to bring about social change.

A perfectionist, he worked, taking problems head-on, analysing them with
incisive clarity, coming up with the most effective and clear solutions,
and then working untiringly to have them implemented. His vision and
perception shaped an institution that uses the power of knowledge as an
effective agent to bring about social change. A perfectionist, he worked
hard even through his illness to ensure rigour and accuracy in the work
of the Centre, spending long hours looking into every last detail. He
avoided rhetoric, using hard facts to fight ignorance and indifference.
He never minced his words, nor hid his anger and frustration against
apathetic governance. It was this forthright approach that he instilled
in his colleagues at CSE, inspiring them in his inimitable style to go
beyond their own perceptions of what they could achieve.

The world had a lot more to learn from Anilji. His death leaves a void
that cannot be filled. His vision and energy will continue to inspire his
colleagues to carry on the work he started at CSE. But he will be greatly
missed.