CASES IN UTTARAKHAND HIGH COURT, 2015 ONWARDS
The Uttarakhand High Court has been dealing with issues involving hydro-electrical power projects in the state since 2015. The first case was a PIL filed by an NGO, Himadri Jan Kalyan Sansthan, against the failure to dispose of muck from construction of dams on the Mandakini and Alaknanda rivers in the state.
In 2019, a PIL was filed in the high court by Kundan Singh, a resident of Raini village in Chamoli, specifically challenging the hazardous practices being engaged in, at the Rishi Ganga hydel project – which ended up being washed away after the glacier burst on Sunday.
The PIL had challenged the blasting and stone crushing activities at the hydel power plant, which is one of several on the Alaknanda river in Chamoli, including the Vishnuprayag and Tapovan hydel projects. The high court had ordered a stay on these activities, and ordered the local administration to investigate what was happening.
During the disaster on Sunday, HT…