A perusal of environment impact assessments for hydel projects in Uttarakhand brings out various deficiencies in the reports, and the unstudied manner in which such projects have been embarked upon. That many more of such projects have been proposed points to the muddled direction adopted for energy supply, reminding us of the hydropower story in the United States.

Concepts of environmental conservation and management are directly linked to the practice of development. Development has been seen as not only an instrument to increase production, but also to remove poverty. But anti-poverty schemes in India have not been sustainable and are conditioned by the kind of finance available for their implementation.