- (1.) This petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India has been filed in public interest by Tehri Bandh Virodhi Sangarsh Samiti and others. The petitioners have prayed that the Union of India, State of Uttar Pradesh and the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation be restrained from constructing and implementing the Tehri Hydro Power Project and the Tehri Dam.
(2.) The main grievance of the petitioners is that in preparing the plan for the Tehri Dam project the safety aspect has not been taken into consideration. It is asserted that the dam if allowed to be constructed poses a serious threat to the life, ecology and the environment of the entire northern India as the site of the dam is prone to earthquake. After this petition was filed a number of persons have intervened and the partieshave filed affidavits and counter-affidavits. The matter was heard by this court at various stages. The controversy relating to the project has not only been debated in this court but has also taken a good deal of Parliament's time.
(3.) Shri P. S. Poti, learned Sr. Adv. appearing for the petitioners has argued that the seismic experts in India and abroad are of the view that past records of earthquake show that the likely length of fracture along the convergence boundary is of the order of 200-300 kilometers. According to him, it is thus possible that a segment of such a length along the Himalayan belt covering the region from approximately Dehradun on the west and India-Nepal border in the east, could be the fracture area of a future large earthquake of magnitude 8 or so. According to him, the government of India has not applied its mind to this very important aspect in preparing the project.;