Jehangir Ali 
Srinagar: A Bhartiya Janta Party legislator has alleged that the Telangana-based Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL) was working like the ‘East India Company’ while executing the Rs 5,281-crore Ratle power project in Kishtwar that has been marred by protests by locals and workers’ strikes.
The allegation comes days after the construction giant was blamed by Jammu and Kashmir government for posing a “grave threat” to the environment with its “unscientific manner of blasting, drilling, muck disposal and movement of vehicles” which has caused “irreversible damage” to the “flora-fauna and ecosystem” of the eco-fragile region.
Residents living in the vicinity of the 850 MW hydropower project, which is expected to be commissioned by May 2026, have accused MEIL of violating the conditions laid down in the contract which has allegedly caused physical damages to their properties such as houses and shops while the unscientific blasting and dumping of waste has also resulted in a spike in respiratory and other diseases.
‘Have they built any park or hospital?’
In a video which has been shared on social media, Shagun Parihar, the newly elected member of legislative assembly from Kishtwar, can be heard telling a group of aggrieved locals in Drabshalla village of Kishtwar during an evening protest last week that the MEIL has allegedly failed to carry out developmental works and even the locals have not been employed in the project as part of the contract.
“The project is meant for easing the lives of locals and not to harass them. What has the company done for the welfare of people here? Have they built any park or hospital? We will not allow their trend of working like ‘East India Company’ here. If the residents don’t want a dumping yard here, we will shift it to some other place,” she said.
A woman protester could be heard telling the BJP legislator that their houses and shops have developed cracks due to heavy blasting involved in the construction of the project. As The Wire has previously reported, the blasting sends plumes of dust into the skies which has triggered a social and health crisis among the people living in the vicinity of the project.
“It feels as if an earthquake had struck when heavy machines move on the roads,” a woman protester could be heard telling the BJP MLA, “No one cares to listen to us. We are fed up with this project and when we try to raise our voices, female police officials threaten us. What wrong have we done? Did we kill anyone? If the government desires so, we will abandon our homes”.
‘Your recommendations’
In the video, Harpal Singh, the MEIL manager of Ratle project, is heard telling the BJP MLA that the dumping site has been allocated to the company by the government and more than 1,700 locals have been employed in the project, “If the government wants us to close it down, we will do it. We have employed people in the project on your (political) recommendations.”
Singh could not be reached by The Wire for clarification about his remarks on political considerations being used to employ locals in the power project. The Wire also could not reach MEIL officials for comment. Mohinder Kumar, a local leader of National Conference also alleged that since 2022 when the work started on the project, only those connected with the ruling party have been provided jobs.
“It is a big scam which should be investigated by the government,” he told The Wire.
Also read: J&K: Blasting for Ratle Power Project Grips Neighbouring Village in Fear
Warnings and notices
The protests against the Ratle power project took place days after J&K Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC) issued a show-cause to the MEIL, warning of initiating legal action under the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986 for allegedly flouting the norms while taking up the construction.
“You are also directed to show-cause within 15 days as to why Environmental Compensation on the basis of Polluter Pays Principle and as per the directions issued by the National Green Tribunal for violating the conditions of Environmental Clearance and causing damage to the environment should not be levied upon you”, the notice issued to MEIL chief executive officer reads.
A JKPCC committee also found that open blasting had resulted in air and noise pollution in Drabshalla while the company had also failed to install meters for continuous monitoring of environment and noise generation which was a violation of the conditions of Environmental Clearance issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change to the MEIL.
The JKPCC notice came after a memorandum was submitted by the locals of Drabshalla and other adjoining areas to the local administration last month, alleging that the MEIL had flouted the norms in the execution of the project, which is a joint venture between National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and J&K State Power Development Corporation (SPDC).
In September this year, the J&K government’s public works department had warned the MEIL, which has been booked by the central Bureau of Investigation on the charges of bribery, to stop “unauthorised movement of heavy vehicles” on the roads around the project site in Kishtwar while threatening to file a first information report in the case of noncompliance.
The J&K government had set up Ratle Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited which signed a contract agreement with MEIL for the turnkey execution of the project in 2022. The company was recently in news after it turned out to be one of the two biggest donors in the controversial electoral bonds scheme and the biggest donor of electoral bonds to the BJP at Rs 586 crore.
The company had also donated Rs 195 crore to the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, Rs 85 crore to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, besides Rs 37 crore to the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party, Rs 28 crore to Telugu Desam Party, and Rs 18 crore to the Congress.