NTPC urges SC to lift stay on projects in Uttarakhand

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has approached the Supreme Court urging it to reconsider the blanket stay on construction activity on 24 hydro power projects in Uttarakhand that was imposed after the 2013 flood tragedy.

The NTPC filed an interlocutory application seeking a rethink on the ban, contending that the apex court’s order caused huge monetary losses to the company. 

Senior advocate A M Singhvi submitted that the apex court’s order passed on August last that restrains the Centre as well as Uttarakhand governments from granting any environmental or forest clearance to a hydroelectric power project in the state and staying the construction work on 24 out of total 39 proposed projects in the state has created financial strains.

A vacation bench of justices B S Chauhan and A K Sikri, however, said that the application could only be taken by the regular bench, which had already fixed the matter for consideration on July 22.

No construction activity

The apex court had then banned any construction activity while expressing concern over Uttarakhand disaster causing huge loss to lives and properties in June last. It had said that those projects were found to be impacting biodiversity in two sub-basins of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers.

An expert panel headed by Ravi Chopra — formed on the direction of the apex court in August — reportedly recommended dropping of 23 of the hydroelectric power projects claiming those played a significant role in flood and disaster.

The Union government, however, wanted to set up another panel to assess the report prepared by Chopra panel and others.