The Himal World
Gangtok, 28 January
Fourteen months after a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) completely washed away the 1200 mw Teesta-III dam in North Sikkim, the Environment Ministry has recommended reconstruction of what was then Sikkim’s biggest hydropower project. It was the second biggest hydel project in India. 
 The reconstruction move has, however, been opposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party. 
According to reports, the ministry has approved the proposal to construct a new long concrete gravity dam in its place that will measure 118.64 meters in height. The old dam with 1200 MW capacity was 60 meters high.
Although the safety and design of the dam have not been agreed upon yet, an Experts’ Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the ministry approved the reconstruction of the dam on January 10.
The Lhonark Lake in Chungthang in North Sikkim burst on the intervening night of 3-4 October 2023 causing the GLOF and devastation downstream. Hundreds of people lost their lives in both Sikkim and West Bengal, thousands were rendered homeless, and property worth billions of rupees was destroyed by the flooded Teesta River.
On 5 August last year, Sikkim’s Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang (Golay) had told the budget session of the Sikkim Legislative Assembly that the dam collapse in Chungthang had caused a loss of about Rs 25,000 crore and that the project itself had become a non-performing asset. He had also said that this had caused a revenue loss of Rs 300 to 400 crore annually to Sikkim.
Following the Teesta tragedy, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) had also formed a sub-committee to assess the feasibility and safety of a new dam. A team of the sub-committee visited the Chungthang area in December 2024 to assess the feasibility of the dam. Reports say that the Ministry of Environment approved a proposal submitted by M/s Sikkim Energy to build a new dam.
The committee has, however, set conditions for the construction of the new dam, which include an early warning system and mapping of glaciers, lakes and landslide-prone areas. 
“However, the design aspects of the new dam are yet to be approved by the Central Water Commission (CWC), Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other central parties,” reports quoted government officials as saying.
Notably, while the Teesta Energy Dam project was inaugurated in 2017, allegations of corruption have been levelled against the former SDF government in Sikkim regarding the construction of the Teesta-III project. Questions have been raised on the quality of the construction work. 
Meanwhile, the ministry’s approval for the new project has not gone down well with the BJP in the Himalayan state of Sikkim. The party in the state called it a hasty decision. 
“Important studies, including a possible maximum flood assessment, have not been completed,” Sikkim BJP spokesperson Pasang Sherpa and party media in-charge Niren Bhandari said in a statement released on 28 January.
The BJP leaders demanded that the approval be withdrawn immediately, and called for a public hearing on the issue.