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CASE NO.:
Writ Petition (civil)
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Page 1 of 37
295 of 1992
PETITIONER:
N.D. JAYAL AND ANR.
RESPONDENT:
UNION OF INDIA AND ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 01/09/2003
BENCH:
S. RAJENDRA BABU & D.M. DHARMADHIKARI & G.P. MATHUR
JUDGMENT:
JUDGMENT
2003 Supp(3) SCR 152
The Judgments of the Court were delivered by RAJENDRA BABU,
J.
:
WRIT PETITION NO. 295 OF 1992 :
The present petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India is the
second round of legal action connected to the safety and environmental
aspects of Tehri Dam before this Court.
The petitioners herein firstly urge us to issue necessary directions to
conduct further safety tests so as to ensure the safety of the dam.
Secondly, they allege that the concerned authorities have not
correspondingly complied with the conditions attached to the Environmental
Clearance dated July 19, 1990 and want us to halt the Project till the same
is complied with. Lastly, they want us to look into the Rehabilitation
aspects. Subsequent to the filing of this petition few others joined as
interveners. String of Affidavits, counter-affidavits and other documents
disclosing the minutest details have been presented. Oral submissions on
both sides have been addressed at length.
Before adverting to the contentions of safety, environmental clearance and
rehabilitation, it is necessary to draw a demarcating line between the
realm of policy and the permissible areas for judicial interference in the
context of present case. For this, a brief factual survey is warranted.
This is also necessary to appreciate the broader issues advanced before us.
Investigation for the purpose of construction of a dam at Tehri for hydel
power generation was commenced as early as in 1961. In the year 1972, the
Planning Commission envisaged a cost of Rs. 197.92 crores and in 1976,
administrative clearance to the Project was given by the Government of U.P.
In March 1980, a direction was issued by the then Prime Minister for an indepth review of the whole project. Consequently, an Expert Group was
constituted by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Prime Minister’s
note on the file reads as follows:
"There are several proposals which were agreed to earlier but would need to
be looked into again. Amongst them are Silent Valley, the dam in Tehri
Garhwal and the dam in Lalpur, Gujarat. It seems that larger areas of very
fertile land are being submerged without any commensurate gains. There may
be other such cases also. It is true that these decisions have been taken
over a period of time but there is great local distress and a feeling that
contractors and other such groups will be the main gainers. Hence, it is
necessary to have another look in depth."
In May 1980, an interim report was submitted by the Expert Group and the
final report was submitted in August 1986. Even though an expenditure of
Rs. 206 crores has been incurred, the Expert Committee recommended to
abandon the project. Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) accepted the