GUWAHATI: At a time when dam-induced flood has ravaged Assam’s Golaghat district as well as in Kerala, the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC)’s standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (SCNBWL) will take the crucial decision on September 7 whether to grant or reject clearance to the 1750 MW Demwe Lower hydroelectric project proposed at the cultural heritage site Parshuram Kund on the Lohit river in Arunachal Pradesh . Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ’s ashes were also immersed at Parshuram Kund.NBWL is a statutory body constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act. While NBWL is mandated to review wildlife-related matters, clearance from the body is a must for projects which are proposed in and around national parks and sanctuaries.Assam’s Dibru Saikhowa National Park and Biosphere reserve is located on the downstream of the project.The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in October 24, 2017 suspended the forest clearance granted to the project involving diversion of over 1,24,000 trees in the vicinity of “sacred site” Parshuram Kund. The NGT had also set aside the wildlife clearance based on which the forest clearance was granted, and asked SCNBWL to reconsider the issue relating to Demwe Lower hydroelectric project and pass appropriate orders within a period of six months.Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma in 2014 raised concern about the impact of the proposed dam on Parshuram Kund.Subsequent to the NGT judgement, the matter was placed for fresh approval of the SCNBWL.In the 48 SCNBWL meeting on March 27 it was suggested that detailed studies on hydrology and ecology for three seasons should be conducted a reputed and neutral scientific, technical organizations before according clearance.What has worried the conservationists that the standing committee headed by Union environment has asked for the report to be submitted within three months, which means only a rapid field visit could be undertaken. The Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India made a preliminary presentation based on a short field visit in the 49 SCNBWL meeting in June this year and is likely to present its final findings in the upcoming meeting on September 7.Officials on the condition of anonymity said that at least one year is needed for a detailed study on hydrology and ecology for three seasons.“In light of recent dam-induced floods in the Northeast and in the south, it is a matter of serious concern that the SCNBWL will be examining the dam for clearance based on a rapid study and in the absence of a detailed downstream impact and risk assessment including on the Dibru Saikhowa National Park,” Bimal Gogoi, one of the petitioners in the NGT case against Demwe project.Gogoi, a resident of Golaghat district ravaged by the release of excess water from Doyang hydroelectric project in Nagaland , said three bridges including the Dhola-Sadiya bridge that came up on Lohit river should also be part of the downstream cumulative impact study for Demwe project.