The Centre has refuted the allegations of linking the Joshimath land slide with the tunnelling work of NTPC in a draft letter. The letter states that there is no evidence to link the two events and that it is possible that other factors may have caused the land slide.
The Centre also clarified that NTPC had taken all necessary precautions while tunnelling, and had followed all safety protocols as per guidelines. It further noted that a detailed scientific investigation would be required to ascertain the exact cause of the subsidence in Joshimath. The Joshimath land slide was reported on 22 June and was subsequently blamed on the tunnelling work of NTPC by some officials in Uttar Pradesh. This led to a public outcry, with many citizens and politicians demanding an investigation into the matter. A few months later, on 13 December 2022, the state government cleared NTPC after conducting a "thorough" probe into the incident.
The state government instead blamed heavy rains for triggering the landslides in Joshimath which disrupted road traffic in Uttarakhand.Up adhyay said that the state government had received an alert on January 14 about heavy rains and landslides in Joshimath and Kotdwar.
"We sent a note of caution to all stations asking them to remain cautious," he said, adding: "The incident happened due to torrential rain.""The event was beyond our control and it seems that there are some vested interests behind this incident which is unfortunate.”
