National Green Tribunal Takes Action on Controversial Hydro Projects in Kullu
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has stepped into a significant environmental dispute in Himachal Pradesh, issuing formal notices to multiple respondents concerning two hydro-electricity projects in the Parvati valley of Kullu district. These projects are alleged to pose a severe threat to the very existence of a local village and endanger precious wildlife in the region.
Key Respondents and Allegations
The NGT notices have been directed toward the Himachal Pradesh government, several state and central departments, and two prominent members of the Butail family from Palampur—Dinesh Butail and Beena Butail. The petition, filed by Chandresh Kumar, a resident of Thunja village near Kasol, and social activist Rohit Singh on behalf of villagers, centers on two small hydro projects, each with a 5 MW capacity, being constructed on the Grahan rivulet.
The petitioners assert that these projects blatantly violate established environmental norms and wildlife protection laws. They have accused the proponents, Dinesh Butail—a well-known tea grower and businessman—and his relative Beena Butail, who is the wife of veteran Congress leader Brij Bihari Butail and mother of Palampur Congress MLA Ashish Butail, of engaging in "regulatory evasion." This involves allegedly hiding critical facts to avoid proper scrutiny and a cumulative appraisal of the project's overall impact.
Immediate Threats to Village and Environment
Thunja village, home to 15 families residing on a steep and geologically fragile slope, relies entirely on a single spring-fed bauri (a traditional water source) for drinking water and a nearby ghasini (pasture land) for fodder. The petition highlights that project proponents commenced blasting and excavating headrace tunnels directly beneath the village without conducting essential studies on slope stability, vibration, or disaster risks.
This is despite a 2016 report from the Kullu administration explicitly declaring the slope "not stable" for hydro projects. The petition urgently calls for an immediate halt to all work on this unstable terrain, warning of a serious threat to the lives, property, and water security of Thunja villagers and pleading for NGT intervention.
Allegations of Project Splitting and Wildlife Concerns
Further complicating the issue, the petition alleges that the Kasol and Grahan-Kasol small hydro projects, owned by Beena Butail and Dinesh Butail respectively, function as a single unit. They share the same slope, Grahan Nala stream, blasting corridor, and operate from the same Palampur address. The use of two different stream names—Kasol Nadi and Grahan Nala—is described as a "textbook case of project splitting" designed to evade cumulative appraisal and scrutiny by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).
By masking the combined 10 MW impact on a single stream, authorities, including the forest department, allegedly cleared the two 5 MW projects without proper verification, whereas they should have been assessed as one 10 MW project. Both projects are situated within 2.7 km of the eco-sensitive zone of the Kanwar Wildlife Sanctuary. The petition claims that proponents and the state wildlife department provided inconsistent and fabricated distances from the sanctuary boundary—5 metres in 2015 and 40–500 metres in 2024—leading to the approval of a Wildlife Mitigation Plan in 2024.
This plan is criticized for lacking GIS-based boundary verification, a wildlife movement study, and any assessment of the impact of blasting and construction on wildlife in the eco-sensitive zone.
Legal and Procedural Violations
In addition to environmental and wildlife concerns, the petition accuses the proponent of misclassifying the Grahan-Kasol hydro project as a linear project instead of a non-linear project. Non-linear projects involve site-specific permanent structures like powerhouses and tunnels, requiring mandatory Gram Sabha approval from Thanuja village. This misclassification allegedly bypassed statutory processes and avoided necessary local consent.
The petitioners have prayed to the tribunal to quash the Wildlife Mitigation Plan, order a unified cumulative impact assessment of the projects, and mandate scrutiny by the Standing Committee of the NBWL. They also seek to quash clearances under the Forest Rights Act (FRA).
NGT's Response and Broader Implications
Observing that "substantial issues relating to compliance of environmental norms have been raised in the petition," NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava ordered notices to be served to all respondents. These include the chief secretary, principal chief conservator of forests, secretary of Jal Shakti Vibhag, chief engineer of HP State Electricity Board Limited, Kullu deputy commissioner, Himurja director, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, member secretary of NBWL, and the two Butail family members.
This case underscores critical tensions between development projects and environmental conservation in ecologically sensitive regions like the Himalayas. It highlights the importance of rigorous adherence to environmental laws and transparent appraisal processes to protect vulnerable communities and wildlife habitats from irreversible harm.
