Environment minister Jairam Ramesh had earlier this month had got construction of the dam on Alakananda river stopped after Bharati wrote a protest letter against submergence of the temple to Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
He constituted a three member inquiry committee having two ministry officials and Navanjot Lahiri, a Delhi University professor to suggest measures to save the temple and submit a compliance report on environmental conditions imposed when the project was cleared in 1996.
The ministry officials submitted one report whereas Lahiri submitted another with differing views this week.Â
Lahiri took a strong objection to the committee members meeting the locals in presence of project proponents Alakananda Hydro Power Limited (AHPL) resulting in they agreeing with the project, except Bharat Jhunjunwala, who had also filed a petition against the project in Uttarakhand High Court. Read the full report here.
Source: Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, New Delhi.
