Dehradun, May 21 -- The Centre has informed the Supreme Court of its decision to not allow any new hydro-electric projects to be commissioned in the upper reaches of the Ganga river basin in Uttarakhand. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) on Tuesday filed a 91-page affidavit asserting a united consensus across three critical ministries- the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) and the Ministry of Power (MoP)- stating that the potential risks to the ecosystem outweighed the economic benefits of generating additional power. The affidavit rejected approval for 21 out of 28 projects under consideration. It was filed in the Supreme Court's suo moto hearing on the catastrophic flash floods in Kedarnath that killed around 6,000 people in 2013. The apex court initiated the case while evaluating the environmental impact hydroelectric projects posed to the disaster. It was formally recorded under the file: "Alaknanda Hydro Power Co Ltd vs Anuj Joshi and others". The 21 rejected projects represented a combined capacity of about 2,100 MW, stated the affidavit. It added that out of the remaining seven projects, "four projects are already commissioned and three projects have already achieved substantial physical and financial progress". The affidavit stated clearly that apart from the seven mentioned, the Centre was not "in favour of permitting any other new Hydro-Electric Project in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi river basin in the upper reaches of the River Ganga in the State of Uttarakhand". The decision marks a departure from recommendations made earlier by a high-powered committee constituted by the Supreme Court, which included the cabinet secretary and the state chief secretary. The committee had, on November 6, 2024, proposed allowing five projects to go ahead, including Bowala Nandprayag, Devsari, Bhyundar Ganga, Jhalakoti, and Urgam-II. The central ministries pushed back actively. They noted that even "these projects will have profound impact on the overall health of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda River System" The affidavit cited the unique geography of the Ganga's upper reaches, comprising the Alaknanda-Bhagirathi basin, to argue that they could not be treated like standard river systems. "This region, lying in the headstream zone of the Alaknanda-Bhagirathi basin, is characterised by a sui-generis combination of seismic, glaciological, geomorphological and hydrological factors that distinguishes it from other river systems of the country," it said. It further found critical flaws with previous expert reviews such as the Expert Body-II (EB-II) report. The Centre pointed out that the report measured aquatic and terrestrial impacts merely "per megawatt", which it said "fails to capture the full extent of forest/river damage from large projects." Another flaw cited was that "important attributes like landslides, flash flood, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), seismic activities and geological factors had not been taken into consideration in the scoring methodology." The decision affirmed the recommendations made by Expert Body-1(EB-1), chaired by Dr Ravi Chopra, in 2014. The report had ruled the extent of hydroelectric projects' negative impact on the environment as "irreversible". "We welcome this policy decision as it will hopefully have a long term positive impact on ecology and environment of Himalayas," said Hemant Dhyani, member of the Supreme Court appointed expert body. The seven hydel power projects already approved include Tehri PSP (Tehri Stage-II), operated by THDCIL on Bhagirathi river, (1000 MW, Commissioned), Tapovan Vishnugad, managed by NTPC on *Dhauliganga river (520 MW, Under Construction), Vishnugad Pipalkoti project, under THDCIL, situated on Alaknanda river (444 MW, under construction) Singoli Bhatwari project, operated by L&T on Mandakini river (99 MW, Commissioned), Phata Byung project , operated by Lanco on Mandakini (76 MW, work in process), Madhmaheshwar project, run by UJVNL on Madhmaheshwar Ganga river (15 MW, in operation), and seventh project is Kailganga - II, managed by Chamoli Hydro on Kaliganga river (4.5 MW, commissioned)...