Supreme Court panel clears five hydro projects on Ganga

A Supreme Court-appointed panel has backed the development of five hydroelectric projects (HEPs) in Uttarakhand, despite opposition from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and the Jal Shakti Ministry, which raised concerns over ecological impacts and risks associated with the region’s seismic and landslide-prone nature.

The court’s involvement dates back to the 2013 Kedarnath floods, after which it imposed a moratorium on new HEPs and directed the MoEF to evaluate their impacts. 

Over the years, three committees presented conflicting findings. In 2014, Ravi Chopra’s committee opposed 24 projects, citing disaster risks, while IIT-Kanpur’s Vinod Tare in 2015 flagged ecological risks for six projects. In 2020, a third panel led by B P Das recommended approving 28 projects, but the Central government allowed only seven in 2021 following deliberations.

On November 8, a high-level committee chaired by Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan endorsed five projects, including Bowala Nandprayag (300 MW), Devasri (252 MW), Bhyundar Ganga (24.3 MW), Jhalakoti (12.5 MW), and Urgam-II (7.5 MW).