Despite several protests, critiques and studies suggesting that the construction of the Loharinag Pala Dam was a rushed and dangerous venture, on 12 July a meeting between Finance Minister Pranab Muhkerjee, Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh and Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde ruled that construction on the Loharinag Pala Dam would continue since close to Rs. 600 crore had been invested already, and work on the dam was 40% complete. According to Times of India it was also indicated that over Rs. 2000 crore of orders with relation to the construction of this dam had already been ordered.

This decision comes as a shock to those environmentalists fighting to prevent the Ganga from being severely exploited and wantonly destroyed. According to the latest implementation report the investment till end of March 2009 was Rs. 460 crores. The Central government scrapped two dams, Bhaironghati and Pala-Maneri, however the Loharinag Pala was given special consideration and referred to a group of ministers. Unfortunately it seems that the decision to continue construction of the Loharinag Pala was made on purely financial grounds, neglecting the obvious environmental threat and the faith of millions.

This movement is neither sudden nor young. Since 2007, Advocate M.C. Mehta and Dr. G.D. Agarwal have campaigned against the construction of these dam projects along the Bhagirathi, asking for a mere 125 km stretch starting at Gangotri to be left pristine and unharmed.

Dr. G.D. Agarwal, declared a fast until death once on June 13th, 2008 which lasted more than two weeks before the Government of Uttarakhand promised in writing to suspend work on the dams. But this suspension did not last and Dr G.D. Agarwal resumed his fast (on January 14, 2009) to stop the building of the Loharinag Pala Dam, for which work was suspended on February 20, 2009. A committee of experts tasked with determining the impact of shutting down the Loharinag Pala Dam concluded a few weeks ago that the project could be shut down provided the correct measures were taken.

In view of the history of this struggle, and the failure of committees and the government to consider the environmental impact of dam construction, Dr GD Agarwal once again began an indefinite fast on July 20th, 2010.

There are many organizations involved in this campaign since it was started by M.C. Mehta and Dr. GD Agarwal. The ICELA, the MCMEF and these organizations continue in their struggle to fight the construction of this dam on a sociocultural and environmental basis.

Click here to read the Project Implementation Status Report as of March 2009