Local tribal outfits have opposed Himachal Pradesh government's move to get hydel projects on the Chenab and its tributaries exempted from environmental impact study, saying these should not be allowed bypassing due process.

The tribal organisations expressed concern over the letter written by Chief Minister P K Dhumal to the Centre seeking exemption of certain hydro-power projects from the mandatory process of Cumulative Impact Assessment Studies (CIAS).

In a letter to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, they urged the Centre not to sanction any project in the environmentally fragile region without following the due process.

They alleged that the state government was bent upon "killing the only living river" left in Himachal Pradesh by proposing 20 projects to harness 3,000 MW of power.