NAINITAL: The Rishiganga hydroelectric power project which was washed away after the glacier burst in Raini village and where several workers are still feared trapped had been red-flagged by local villagers as an “impending disaster”.
In 2019, a village resident named Kundan Singh had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Uttarakhand high court (HC) alleging unfair and environmentally hazardous practices by the private firm involved in the project. It was alleged that the firm was “using explosives and blasting the mountains for mining”. The blasting, the petition said, had damaged the sensitive areas around the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve.
Singh had said that all the waste material from the project was being dumped into the Rishiganga river adding that despite complaints from the villagers, no action was taken. “Moreover, it was also noticed that the blatant stone crushing activity was being carried out on the riverbed
“It flouted all norms that the government had laid down for stone crushing activity in this area…. Even though the villagers complained to the authorities about the violations, no credible action was taken,” Singh said in the petition.
Based on the PIL, the court had observed that use of explosives may “result in destruction of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, and the Valley of Flowers”. Therefore, the court banned the use of explosives in the area, and in June 2019, directed the member secretary of the pollution control board and the district magistrate to constitute a joint inspection team and visit the site.
However, the report, a copy of which is available with TOI, exonerated the firm and said that it found no proof of illegal mining or blasting. “During the inspection, there was no proof of any illegal mining being done on the spot and no evidence could be collected,” read the report.
However, the court was informed that there still was some muck around the barrage and power house which was yet to be cleared. On July 26, the court had listed the case for further hearing in August. There hasn’t been a single hearing after that and the case is still pending in the HC.