Political parties in Sikkim, including the state BJP cadre, are demanding approval to rebuild the dam be withheld till public hearings and further studies are completed.
The letter’s urgency was brought on by the fact that only a few weeks prior, a centrally-appointed Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) approved plans to rebuild the dam just 14 months after it was swept away. The final approval is granted by the Union Environment Ministry, generally on the recommendation of the EAC.
In October 2023, a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) originating from the South Lhonak glacial lake destroyed the 1200-megawatt Teesta III Hydro Electric Project (HEP) in minutes, killing 55 people along the way and displacing 7,025 others. The destruction was described as one of the worst disasters the Himalayan state had ever seen and spotlighted the need to account for the region’s fragile ecology.