Centre's panel recommends in-principle forest diversion nod for Kirthai-II project

📌 Summary:

• The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the MoEFCC recommended in-principle approval to divert 197 hectares of forest land for the 820 MW Kirthai-II hydroelectric project on the Chenab in Kishtwar, J&K
• It is the third Chenab hydel project cleared since the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was suspended after the Pahalgam terror attack; other Chenab projects include Sawalkote, Dulhasti-II, Ratle, Pakal Dul, Kwar, Kiru, and Kirthai-I
• Capacity reduced from 930 MW to 820 MW; a run-of-the-river project with a 121-m concrete gravity dam; 8,723 trees to be felled
• The site is habitat for Chilgoza Pine, Himalayan Tahr, Asiatic Black Bear, Himalayan Brown Bear and Asiatic Ibex; the FAC directed wildlife and habitat management plans including an animal passage plan
• The J&K administration has dispensed with cumulative impact assessment and carrying-capacity studies for the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum, citing their strategic nature and the need to fully use the waters

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — forest diversion and clearances, hydropower-versus-ecology trade-offs, and the geopolitics of the IWT.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• FAC functions under the Forest (Conservation) Act framework, advising on forest-land diversion
• The Chenab is a "western river" allocated to Pakistan under the IWT
• Implementing agency: Chenab Valley Power Projects Ltd (a NHPC + JKSPDC joint venture)

🔑 Key Term: Run-of-the-river project — a hydroelectric plant that uses the natural flow of a river with little or no storage reservoir.