Removing legal hurdles for the ongoing construction of the controversial Tehri hydel dam project in Uttaranchal, the Supreme Court on Monday said there was no material on record to show that statutory environmental conditions had not been complied with.
A three-judge bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu, Justice D M Dharmadhikari and Justice G P Mathur by a 2:1 majority verdict said petitioner N D Jayal had not established nor placed any material to show the project work was carried out without complying with the environment norms and guidelines.
Justice Babu and Justice Mathur, giving the majority verdict, said the work at the project site was being carried out under the supervision of a monitoring committee.
The bench, however, said tunnel number one and two of the project should not be closed and no further impounding of water be carried out till the rehabilitation work was completed.
Justice Dharmadhikari, giving the dissenting verdict, said that a committee of experts should be set up who would carry out all scientific tests including 3-D seismic survey and suggest corrective measures to be carried out. He also said that the rehabilitation work should be completed.
Jayal had petitioned the Supreme Court alleging that construction of such big project in an active seismic zone had rendered the dam unsafe as no tests regarding safety of the dam from earthquakes, experienced frequently in the region, had been carried out so far.
