The Supreme Court had in August 2013, after the June 2013 floods, banned construction of hydro power projects in Uttarakhand finding they were significantly impacting biodiversity in two sub-basins of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers. The Supreme Court had in August 2013, after the June 2013 floods, banned construction of hydro power projects in Uttarakhand finding they were significantly impacting biodiversity in two sub-basins of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers.

Construction of hydro electric power projects in Uttarakhand, banned after devastating floods of June 2013, may finally resume.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the views of environmentalists on a plea by the Centre for partial lifting of the ban and allowing six projects to come up, given the acute power shortage in the state. Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the Ministry of Environment and Forest has given a clean chit to six projects-one each of NTPC, NHPC, THDC and GMR and two of Super Hydro. The ministry said these projects had not been found deficient in environment and forest clearance at the time of granting licence.

"A total of 24 projects are under consideration. But we are only insisting on clearance from the court for the six projects due to the peculiar urgency and acute power shortage", Rohatgi told a bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra.

The court had stayed construction of all hydro power projects in Uttarakhand after the disastrous floods in June 2013 which claimed 5,000 lives and devastated the state.

What prompted the Centre to seek partial lifting of the ban was apparently the favourable comments from the bench in December 2014 when it said prohibition cannot be in force forever and advocated a "balance" between environmental concerns and economic development. "Everything cannot be stopped just like that and in perpetuity. There was a natural catastrophe and the restraint order was passed. Environmental concerns and economic propensity have to be balanced now. We have to strike a balance," Justice Misra had said.

"Care and precaution have to be utmost while examining the feasibility of each hydro power project but to scrap all 24 projects could not be the intention of the court order. The judgment never said don't ever give the clearance. The real question would be which are the projects that can go on without affecting the environment", the court had said.

The August 2013 judgment by the apex court, issuing the ban order, was passed following the concerns over the loss of lives and property in the 2013 Uttarakhand flash floods. The court had also ordered a comprehensive study of the impact of such projects in the state after underlining that 24 of the total 39 proposed projects had been found to be significantly impacting biodiversity in two sub-basins of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi rivers.