HP govt withdrew petition against NGT order after Rahul Gandhi's intervention: Congress

It was Rahul Gandhi's intervention on Thursday which led to Himachal Pradesh government withdrawing its plea in the Supreme Court challenging directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT) on a hydro-power project, party sources claimed. They said Gandhi intervened in the matter which challenged tribal rights.

The Congress vice president has been vocal on the issue of tribal rights and taking consent of forest dwellers before initiating development projects.

State-owned HPPCL on Thursday withdrew its plea from the Supreme Court challenging directions of NGT on a hydro-power project in Himachal Pradesh, saying the state government was considering the claim of traditional community rights of tribals.

A bench of Justices A R Dave and L Nageswara Rao allowed the Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (HPPCL) to withdraw its plea. Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for HPPCL, said a consent order has been passed in NGT and they seek to withdraw the plea as state government was considering the traditional community rights of tribals and the compensation to be paid to them for projects on forest land.

The apex court had earlier this week asked the Centre to detail the mechanism for evaluating the traditional community rights of tribals and the compensation paid to them.