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Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Sumin residents move contempt petition against Madhya Bharat

GANGTOK, 07 Apr: Residents of Sumin in East Sikkim have now filed a contempt petition against the developers of the 96 MW Rongnichu hydro electric project. This follows the petition of Karma Thinlay, the main petitioner, against the company, Madhya Bharat, which they had filed earlier and in which they had alleged several violations and lapses on the part of the developer in the construction of the project.
It is alleged that Madhya Bharat did not comply with all the stipulations of the Ministry of Environment and Forests in its Environmental Clearance along with other lapses in the course of its construction particularly that of the head race tunnel of which a part had also collapsed last year.
Following a compliance report filed by the company with the High Court of Sikkim in February this year, the residents of Sumin have now approached the court with a contempt petition which mainly alleges that the compliance report of the company does not address many of their issues.
Counsel for the petitioner, Dr. Doma Bhutia, contends that the power developer has not complied with the conditions as laid down in the Environmental clearance of the MoEF.
“This is ground for contempt as per the order of the Supreme Court last year in Association of Environment Protection vs State of Kerala and others,” she points out. According to her, if the terms and conditions of the Environmental Clearance are violated the construction undertaken by the company is liable to be demolished.
The contempt petition alleges that the power developer has not yet constructed a concrete wall, as required, at Adit Tunnel 2 where all the muck from the construction has been deposited on the khasmal land of the villagers. The muck is yet to be cleared. Also, the company has failed to construct primary health centres at Namli and Namcheybung as stipulated in the Environment clearance.
Other lapses, as alleged, include failure to repair the monastery or initiate the process of compensating the affected villagers of the area whose houses are claimed to have been damaged by the construction activity. The company, as Dr. Bhutia informs, is required to comply with the recommendations of the Department of Mines & Geology, the SPDC as well as with the conditions laid down in the Environmental Clearance.
The petitioners have also recorded a compact disc on the various damages, violations and lapses on the party of the company in its construction; the petitioners have sought that this CD be screened in the court to establish their claims. The court has allowed time to the respondent company officials to reply to the contempt petition. The next date is set for 17 April.

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