The Centre has announced that no hydro-electric power project would get clearance from the Environment and Forest Ministry without a comprehensive bio-diversity study. This was stated by the Union Environment and Forest Minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh while presiding over a day-long consultation on the on-going and proposed execution of mega dam hydel-projects in the in the North-East in Guwahati yesterday. He said, in cases of the series of projects on an individual river, cumulative impact studies would also be made mandatory for such clearances. The Minister assured the gathering of experts, civil society groups and leading citizens that he would take up with the Prime Minister and the Union Power Minister the popular feelings for keeping in abeyance the construction of the mega dam projects in Arunachal Pradesh till the consultations with the expert groups and the studies on their downstream and cumulative impacts are completed. He, however, reminded the anti-dam protesting groups that the country needs power. Moreover, the country needs to make its presence felt on the Himalayan rivers to strengthen its position in relation to China on the use of these rivers.