Tehri: What happened in Supreme Court

Action Alert: 24-1-02

Tehri: What happened in Supreme Court

Today in the Supreme Court, room no. 3 (Justice Patnaik and Bisheshwar Prasad .Singh) has started final hearing of Tehri Dam case, N.D. Jayal & Shekhar Singh Vs. Union of India and others. Justice Patnaik started the proceedings by noting that the Court would take up three aspects of the Tehri Dam issue – Safety, Environment and Rehabilitation.

Sinior Advocate Indira Jaisingh and Adv. Sanjay Parikh argued for the petitioners’ side.

Summary of proceeding: --

The Tehri Hydro Development Corporation lawyer Adv. Ranjeet kumar said that the state of Uttaranchal where the Dam was located and which was responsible for the rehabilitation has not been made a Party to the case. Adv. Indra Jaisingh , lawyer for the petitioners observed that the lawyer for the state of Uttaranchal was present in the court. State of Uttaranchal could be made a party if their lawyer consented. With the consent of the concerned lawyer for Uttaranchal, the Court made the state of Uttaranchal party to the case. The State of Uttaranchal was directed to file an affidavit on the three aspects of the Tehri Dam – safety, environment and rehabilitation, particularly rehabilitation, explaining the status of these three aspects of the project.

Adv. Indra Jaisingh requested that the Court should direct the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India to file a reply on all the three aspects of the Tehri Project. . The advocate for the petitioners further requested that the Court should take up the matter soon because submergence had already started in Tehri.

The Court then directed

1. the MOEF to file a reply on all three aspects of the project.
   
2. the State of Uttaranchal to file their affidavit within six weeks.
   

Court assured the advocate for the petitioners that in any case the final disposal of the case would be over before the monsoon.

In Solidarity