The National Green Tribunal has ruled that the contractor for a major hydroelectric project must fully fund the ecological recovery of the Chenab River after illegal construction waste dumping in Jammu and Kashmir. The order highlights ongoing environmental compliance issues in sensitive Himalayan river systems.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has held Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) liable to pay the full cost of restoring the downstream riverine ecology of the Chenab River, damaged by illegal dumping of construction debris during the construction of the 850 MW Ratle Hydroelectric Power Project in Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir.
According to details received by The Chenab Times, the NGT’s principal bench, comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Afroz Ahmad, passed the judgment on February 12, 2026. The tribunal directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to constitute an expert committee to assess the restoration costs within three months, with MEIL bearing the expenditure.
The ruling was based on field visits and a factual report by a joint committee comprising officials from state authorities, the MoEF&CC, and the Central Pollution Control Board. The committee confirmed violations, finding that MEIL dumped excavated muck directly on the Chenab’s banks, allowing it to flow into the river, contrary to environmental clearance conditions requiring disposal sites to be at least 30 metres from the high flood level.
The case stemmed from a November 2023 letter petition by the Municipal Committee of Thathri, a town in Doda district along the Chenab in the Chenab Valley region. The petition alleged that MEIL, which secured the engineering, procurement, and construction contract in January 2022, ignored three designated disposal zones and dumped material directly into the river. Residents warned that rising monsoon waters could threaten over a thousand shops and five thousand homes in Thathri.
Indian Express reported that one key dumping zone on the river’s right bank was closer than the mandated 30-metre buffer, and retaining walls at sites did not meet norms, leading to direct muck flow into the channel. The NGT noted that photographs in MEIL’s counter-affidavits showed evidence of such discharge.
The tribunal also instructed MEIL to explore using the excavated muck to develop a biodiversity or forest park in collaboration with the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department, similar to the model at the Kishanganga Power Project in Bandipora. The expert committee must file quarterly action-taken reports, supported by video recordings, with the NGT’s Registrar General.
Furthermore, the NGT directed the Environment Ministry and the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee to pursue penal action on violations cited in show-cause notices issued in October 2025. The Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (RHPCL) had issued multiple warnings to MEIL between 2022 and 2025 about potential consequences under the Water Act, Air Act, and Environment Protection Act.
The Ratle project, a run-of-the-river scheme near Drabshalla village across Kishtwar and Doda districts, features a 133-metre-high concrete gravity dam and an underground powerhouse. Union Power Minister Manohar Lal laid the foundation for the dam’s concreting work earlier in 2026. The project’s environmental clearance, originally granted in 2012 and transferred to RHPCL, has been extended until December 2030.
❤️ Support Independent Journalism
Your contribution keeps our reporting free, fearless, and accessible to everyone.
Or make a one-time donation
Secure via Razorpay • 12 monthly payments • Cancel anytime before next cycle
(We don't allow anyone to copy content. For Copyright or Use of Content related questions, visit here.)
The Chenab Times News Desk
