An SC order ignored, and the state of Uttarakhand's flood-hit hydel plants

The SC had ordered no approval for any new hydel plant in the state following panel's observations. However, construction of several existing hydel plants continued

Uttarakhand is India's one of the most eco-senstive areas prone to climate change related impacts and natural disasters. After the 2013 flash floods that impacted five districts, countless villages, and pilgrimage sites including Kedarnath, infrastructure projects in the state were given a relook. The Supreme Court appointed Chaturvedi Committee noted: "Development of new hydropower projects has impact on environment, ecology, biodiversity, both terristial & aquatic and economic and social life." The SC subsequently ordered that no approval to be given to any new hydel plant in Uttarakhand. However, construction of several existing hydel plants continued. As a result of which, the flash flood on Sunday caused more devastation than imagined, costing life of several workers. Shreya Jai looks at the status of hydel plants in the state, most of them stalled and the sad tryst of Uttarakhand with natural disasters.