The proposed rebuild of Sikkim’s 1,200 MW Teesta Stage III hydropower project drew political and community opposition after the Expert Appraisal Committee recommended it for environmental clearance in January 2025 and early-2025 reporting said the Union environment ministry had granted clearance. Critics questioned the flood calculations, independent review and public consultation; Lepcha community members and the Affected Citizens of Teesta also cited cultural and financial impacts. Those objections are not, by themselves, proof that the revised design is unsafe or that the clearance is invalid.
What happened to Teesta III?
The South Lhonak glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in October 2023 destroyed the dam at Chungthang. Scroll/Mongabay India described the facility as a 1,200 MW project. In November 2024, project company Sikkim Urja Limited submitted a proposal to rebuild it, according to the outlet’s 12 February 2025 report.
The company proposed replacing the original concrete-faced rockfill dam with a concrete gravity dam. It also proposed increasing spillway capacity from 7,000 to 19,946 cumecs. These are figures reported from the company’s proposal, not independently verified findings.
On 10 January 2025, after three sittings, the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) recommended the project for environmental clearance. Scroll/Mongabay reported that the Union environment ministry subsequently granted clearance in early 2025. The EAC recommendation and the ministry’s clearance are separate steps. Neither establishes that every other permission needed for construction was obtained.
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Why did parties and citizen groups oppose the rebuild?
Flood assumptions and scrutiny
Sikkim Urja Limited attributed the proposed 19,946-cumec spillway capacity to a 7,000-cumec probable maximum flood (PMF) component and a 12,946-cumec GLOF component. Scroll/Mongabay reported that the company did not provide details about who made those assessments or how. The EAC had previously raised concerns about design and stability, and the Central Water Commission had called for a revised PMF study that it would approve. The available reporting does not establish that the new figures have been independently validated, nor does it establish that the design is unsafe.
The BJP’s Sikkim unit called for pending scientific studies to be completed, the flood assessment to be revised and independently verified, and an updated environmental impact assessment (EIA) to account for climate and GLOF risks. It also sought fresh public participation. BJP Sikkim president D.R. Thapa wrote that hydropower decisions should be based on “scientific data, risk assessments, and inclusive public participation.” These are the party’s objections and requests, not an official finding that the clearance is invalid. Reporting also identified the Sikkim Democratic Front and Citizen Action Party among parties challenging the clearance.
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Public hearing and community concerns
The EAC considered a public hearing unnecessary because the proposal did not involve additional land acquisition, according to Scroll/Mongabay. The BJP and affected residents disputed whether that was an adequate basis for proceeding without a fresh hearing.
An August 2025 issue brief by the Centre of Excellence for Himalayan Studies, based on fieldwork and interviews, describes concerns raised by the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) and Lepcha community members. They include sacred land and river landscapes, cultural identity and practices, and a process they experienced as top-down. The brief records ACT’s concern that the rebuilt dam would be raised from 60 metres to 118.64 metres, that there had been no fresh public hearing, and that the project could impose a financial burden on the state. These are attributed community concerns, not findings that resolve the engineering or legal questions.
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Who bears the financial exposure?
Ownership and liability were also part of the debate. Scroll/Mongabay reported that the Sikkim cabinet decided in February 2024 to sell the state’s 60.08% stake in Sikkim Urja Limited to Greenko. The report says the chief minister presented the sale as transferring liabilities and loans; it establishes a cabinet decision, not completion of the transaction.
A 24 April 2025 interlocutory order from the High Court of Sikkim records a PIL applicant’s request for financial returns, audited profit figures and the dam’s loss-and-damage report. The court dismissed that application as a belated request for a “fishing and roving enquiry” and said it would proceed to hear the main PIL. This was not a final ruling on the rebuild’s merits or a disposition of the entire PIL.
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What was the case for rebuilding promptly?
Sikkim Urja Limited told the EAC that most components other than the dam could be restored within a year and argued for bringing the project back into operation at the earliest. That is the company’s stated case for speed. The reporting does not provide a complete independent assessment of likely costs, schedule, energy benefits, regional-development effects or the distribution of project liabilities.
The central choice is therefore not simply between rebuilding and doing nothing. It is whether to proceed under the revised design and clearance process, or pause for further flood studies, independent review, an updated EIA and renewed public consultation before moving ahead.
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| Question | Proceed under the revised proposal | Pause or reassess |
|---|---|---|
| Flood evidence | The company proposed a larger spillway based on its stated PMF and GLOF components. The reported assessment method and authorship were not provided. | Opponents sought completed scientific studies and a revised PMF assessment, including independent verification. |
| Review and transparency | The EAC recommended clearance after three sittings, and early-2025 reporting described ministry clearance. | Critics argued for independent scrutiny and an updated EIA that addresses climate and GLOF risks. The reported figures’ independent validation is not established. |
| Participation and cultural impacts | The EAC considered a hearing unnecessary because no additional land acquisition was proposed. | The BJP requested fresh public participation; ACT and Lepcha community members raised cultural, sacred-landscape and process concerns. |
| Public finances and liabilities | The company argued for speedy restoration. The available sources do not quantify the full public cost or establish the outcome of the proposed stake sale. | ACT raised concerns about financial burden, and a PIL applicant sought project financial records. The High Court’s interlocutory order did not decide the rebuild’s merits. |
| Energy and regional development | The company cited bringing the project back into operation. The sources do not provide a complete independent estimate of energy or regional-development benefits. | A pause could allow further review before commitment, but the sources do not quantify the opportunity cost of delay. |
How does national GLOF policy fit in?
In an August 2024 parliamentary response, the Government of India said the Central Water Commission would review design floods for dams exposed to GLOFs and that GLOF studies were mandatory for new dams planned in catchments containing glacial lakes. The Ministry of Jal Shakti also reported that 902 glacial lakes and water bodies were monitored from June to October, and that ₹150 crore had been approved for GLOF risk mitigation in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. These are national policy and monitoring figures; they do not show that Teesta III’s proposed flood calculations were independently verified.
What is known about the project’s status?
The cited reporting establishes the EAC recommendation, reported ministry clearance and objections made in 2025. It does not establish construction progress, financing, completion timing or the final current status of the main PIL after the April 2025 interlocutory order. A clearance should not be read as proof that construction has begun or that all separate approvals and legal proceedings are complete.
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