The Srinagar Hydroelectric project in Uttarakhand got environment ministry's clearance in 1987 and its capacity was increased to 330 MW in 1995. Recently, the Uttarakhand government had stayed construction beyond 200 MW asking environment ministry to re-examine environment clearance for increasing its capacity to 300 MW.
The controversy got political this month with Uma Bharati sitting on a fast since May 9 and demanding that the temple should be saved at any cost. She also demanded a law to protect river Ganga and a committee to review all hydel projects on river Ganga.
The environment ministry on Monday asked Alaknanda Hydro Power Company Limited to stop construction of the dam, under discussion for over 30 years, immediately. The dam is being constructed on river Alaknanda, tributary of river Ganga, in the Srinagar valley. Read the full report here.
Source: Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times, New Delhi.
