The Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (RHPCL) has sought an extension of the environmental clearance (EC) validity for the 850 MW Ratle hydroelectric project, under construction on the Chenab River in the Indus basin, citing delays from 2016 to 2021 due to litigation and Covid-19.
The Union Environment Ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) on river valley and hydroelectric projects is set to appraise the extension request in its January 9 meeting later this week.
Days before, Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal visited the Ratle project, and laid the foundation stone for the dam concreting works.
Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited is building the project, which involves the construction of a concrete gravity dam on the Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district. The dam is proposed to be 133 m tall from the deepest foundation level.
The Ratle project on the Indus basin was one of the more contentious projects for Pakistan. Before the abeyance of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) last year, Pakistan had challenged the project’s technical design features, alleging it violated the 1960 treaty. However, following IWT’s suspension, India has pushed on with projects such as Ratle and Sawalkote, and has recently granted green clearance for Dulhasti Stage-II.
RHPCL is a joint venture of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation and Jammu and Kashmir State Power Development Corporation Ltd.
‘Zero period’
In submissions to the ministry, RHPCL stated that even though the project was granted original clearance in December 2012, much of the EC period was lost in litigation between July 2014 and 2021. The project’s 2012 clearance was valid until 2022, but, with certain relaxations granted to hydropower projects due to their long gestation period, it remained valid until December 11, 2025.
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RHPCL has invoked past notifications and office memorandums issued by the environment ministry, which allow an extension of clearance validity, to seek an extension for the Ratle project. The most recent office memorandum, issued in October 2025, allowed project developers to rationalise time lost due to court proceedings during which the clearance could not be implemented.
Effectively, the time lost is counted as “zero period”, as per the ministry’s office order. Another notification, dating back to 2021, granted a relaxation of the validity period for COVID-19 from April 2020 to March 2021.
The company has thus submitted to the Centre that, taking into account the Covid-19 pandemic and the October 2025 order relaxing the counting of court stays as zero orders, an extension of time for clearance should be granted.
Litigations and controversy
The Ratle project was initially awarded to GVK Group, which withdrew in 2014. Subsequently, litigation proceedings began between GVK and the then Jammu and Kashmir government in April 2016. The litigation proceedings were held before the Arbitral Tribunal, the Kishtwar District Court, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court at Jammu, and the Supreme Court.
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The Kishtwar District Court granted an injunction in the matter in April 2016 and ordered the maintenance of the status quo; hence, construction activities could not be taken up. RHPCL submitted to the ministry.
In 2017, the Supreme Court dismissed GVK’s appeal against the J-K High Court order, which upheld the state government’s contract termination. Moreover, in 2018, the Arbitral Tribunal in J-K also directed that the project should be awarded to a new entity.
RHPCL was formed in 2019, and the new JV awarded the construction work to Megha Engineering in January 2022.
The project is currently subject to litigation in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which has heard allegations of illegal muck dumping by Megha Engineering in the Chenab during the project work. The case was filed by residents of Thathri, who have alleged that the muck dumping caused heavy losses to the village during the flood season. NGT reserved judgment in the matter on December 9, 2025.
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The project was also mired in controversy recently, as Megha Engineering officials alleged that BJP legislator Shagun Parihar interfered in recruitment.
The Indian Express had also reported that the J-K Police had alleged that 29 people with alleged militant links were engaged in the project’s construction.
