http://JUDIS.NIC.IN SUPREME COURT OF INDIA in Tehri town and in surrounding area of Garhwal who are likely to be dispalced fo completion of the Project. They have also raised issues of great importance such as the safety of the Dam and the likely devastation and loss of properties and lives of the people in the down stream, if the Dam, being situated in a highly earth quake prone area, bursts or leaks. It is stated that structurally the dam may be incapable of withstanding earthquake of above seven on Richter scale. It is submitted that great danger is posed to down stream cities and population particularly the holy Pilgrim centres like Haridwar and Rishikesh which are in danger zone. The structural flows of the dam and rehabilitation policies provoked public agitation and international attention. The Dam Project was stopped which had begun in 1978. A petition was filed in this Court by Tehri Banch Virodhi Sangh Samiti in the year 1985 for intervention of the Court to stop construction of the Dam as it puts great threat to the safety and lives of the people living in surrounding villages and towns and also holy places down stream. The petition was dismissed by this court and the decision is reported in [1992] Suppl. 1 SCC 44. The Court relied on the techincal data furnished by the Government which had prepared the Plans for Tehri Dam Project and held that since all aspects of safely have been taken into account by Indian and foreign Experts, the Court has no ground before it to restrain the authorities from proceeding ahead with the implementation of the Project. In the year 1986, the Soviet Union agreed to fund the project with loan on concessional terms. As a part of the agreement with the Government of India for funding the Project, the Soviet Experts conducted a review of the proposed Project and gave a finding that the highest seismicity of the Tehri area had not been adequately taken into consideration by Indian planners. The combined Soviet and Indian teams also found that the life of the Dam claimed to be 100 years may not be accurate and its life would be 62 years or less. They also found that about 85,600 people would be displaced by the project. At this stage of hearing of the case, several developments which took place in the interregnum are required to be stated. As a result of public agitation and protest from the people of Garhwal region to the Project for construction of Dam, in March 1980, the then Prime Minister of India intervened and directed an in-depth review of the Project by an expert group constituted by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The technical group submitted its report in 1986 and recommended abandonment of the Project despite expenditure already incurred in the sum of Rs. 2,006 crores. Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC) which is a Expert Body within the Ministry of Environment and Forests recorded a unanimous conclusion that Tehri Project did not merit environmental clearance and should be dropped. The Tehri Project was thereafter revived only when USSR Government agreed to provide technical and financial assistance. The Dam Project which was initially taken up by the Irrigation Committee of erstwhile State of Uttar Pradesh was taken over by a joint venture company of Government of India and State Corporation viz., Tehri Hydel Development Corporation (respondent herein). The Corporation took over the construction of Dam in July 1988. The Corporation reformulated Environment Policy. It was in February 1990 that the EAC in the Ministry of Environment and Forests came to the conclusion that taking into consideration the risks and hazards involving ecological and social impact with huge cost and less benefits, the Dam Project does not merit environmental clearance. The exact words of EAC are as under : "Therefore, taking into consideration the geological seismic setting, risks and hazards and ecological and social impact accompanying the Project, the costs benefits expected and and after a careful examination of the information and data available, the Committee has come to the unanimous conclusion that Tehri Dam Project, as proposed, should not be taken up as it does not merit environmenal clearance". In normal course, the conclusion of the EAC should have closed the matter Page 26 of 37