SC gives relief to Tehri Dam affected families

The Supreme Court today ordered the rehabilitation of nearly 158 families, who were affected by the Tehri dam in Uttarkahand but had been left out of the previous surveys.

Hearing a PIL filed by Kishore Upadhyay, MLA from Tehri and others, a two member bench comprising Justice R V Ravindran and Justice A K Patnaik asked the state government to provide funds for the affected families who were not treated as displaced and therefore had not been rehabilitated or compensated.

The court ordered that 26 villages hitherto uncovered and not selected for rehabilitation and compensation should be considered for due compensation, Colin Gonsalves, counsel for the petitioners said.

The court ordered the construction of three bridges for facilitating connectivity that has been disrupted due to the upcoming lak around the old Tehri town. The bridges should be constructed within a year at Dobra, Ghonti and Chinyali Saur. As the completion of construction of these bridges is pending, the people should be provided with ferry boat services on both sides of the lake on Bhagirathi and Bhilangana valley.

The court also said that apart from these bridges, wherever possible, the government should construct ropeways for people who have to otherwise travel very long distances due to the construction of the dam that has created a reservoir of around 42 sq km.

The government should also construct new roads connecting to these bridges in the affected areas. About 400 shopkeepers who have not been so far revived but whose businesses have been affected due to displacement should be stimulated adequately, the court said.

The apex court ordered that public buildings or institutes that have been submerged or affected due to creation of the Tehri dam lake should be immediately re-constructed and adequate funds should be provided for the same by the state government. Three drinking water schemes should be immediately started and the work should be completed within four months, the court ordered. These are Koshiyar Tal pumping scheme, Sarjyula pumping scheme and Pratap Nagar pumping scheme.

The court also asked the grievance redressal cell to dispose of pending cases with regard to rehabilitation. It also directed that the state should ensure that no affected families go without rehabilitation. The court said the state government can not shrug off its responsibilities towards rehabilitation of the people affected by the project.

“We welcome the today’s order by the court which has provided a major relief to the affected people” said Upadhyay said.