Subsidence-hit Joshimath area 15 km away from NTPC project: Power minister
Power Minister R K Singh on Thursday said the area of subsidence in Joshimath was 15 km upstream from the components of the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project and there were no signs of sinking of ground around its tunnel alignment.
In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Singh said land subsidence in Joshimath was “a very old issue” observed way back in 1976 and the M C Mishra Committee set up by the then state government listed “hill wash, natural angle of repose, cultivation area because of seepage and soil erosion” as probable causes for cracks in the Himalayan town.
The minister said a multi-institutional committee set up by the state authorities in July last year had made no mention of NTPC Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project causing land subsidence in Joshimath.
