Public interest litigation for cancellation of hydroelectric projects on Rishiganga dismissed in High Court
The Uttarakhand High Court in February dismissed a PIL seeking cancellation of forest and environment clearance granted to NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad and another hydroelectric project on the Rishiganga river that caused catastrophic floods in Chamoli district. A division bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Alok Kumar Verma of the High Court at Nainital on Wednesday, while dismissing the PIL, also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on the five petitioners. NTPC’s advocate Kartikeya Hari Gupta said that not being convinced by the sincerity and intentions of the petitioners, the court observed that such developmentally important projects cannot be stopped on the complaints of those who obstruct the work of others. The court observed that the petitioners had failed to show their integrity as social activists and also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 each on all the five petitioners who filed such petitions. In his plea in the court on behalf of NTPC, Gupta said that the Tapovan-Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project is very important for the development of Uttarakhand. He said that NTPC always works by taking all environmental clearances and is committed towards sustainable development of the hills. On February 7 this year, 204 people went missing in the floods in the Rishiganga river of Chamoli, out of which 83 bodies and 36 human organs have been recovered so far.
