Tehri rehab: SC notice to Centre, states

The Supreme Court today sent notices to the Centre and the governments of Uttranchal and Uttar Pradesh on a petition that alleged that sever...

The Supreme Court today sent notices to the Centre and the governments of Uttranchal and Uttar Pradesh on a petition that alleged that several conditions, including rehabilitation of the people displaced under Tehri hydel dam project, have not been fulfilled.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, Justice P.K. Balasubramaniyan and Justice C.K. Thakker granted two weeks to the Centre and the state governments to file reply to the allegations made by the environmental activist N.D. Dayal in his petition.

Dayal submitted that the Apex court had earlier asked the Uttaranchal High Court to monitor the rehabilitation and had even made it clear that till the displaced people were taken care of, the tunnel 1 and 2 of the dam would not be closed.

Story continues below this ad

However, it was informed to the bench that the high court permitted the closure of tunnel 2 in the last week of October. With this, the Old Tehri town and 125 nearby villages began to get submerged. The SC in September 2003 had removed all hurdles for the construction of the project and the work at the site was being carried out under the supervision of a monitoring committee.

According to the Supreme Court order, the rehabilitation should follow the same pattern as in the case of the Narmada dam — further expansion should be done only when those ousted during the construction process are rehabilitated. Every oustee was to be given a 2-hectare plot and house construction assistance. Dayal has claimed that nearly a lakh of people have been left out following the HC order.