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Kalimpong, Oct. 16: The recently-formed NH 31A Bachao Committee has demanded a high-level inquiry into the causes of the landslide at 27 Mile two months ago that led to frequent disruption of traffic on the highway.

In a memorandum mailed to the Union environment minister A. Raja, the committee also demanded that until the inquiry panel submits its report, National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) should stop all construction work of its Teesta Low Dam Project, Stage III, which allegedly caused the slide.

“We further demand a review and reassessment of the environmental impact (of the dam),” said committee convener P.T. Bhutia at a news conference held here today.

Quoting a report prepared by the Eastern Himalayan Tourist and Travel Organisations’ Association, committee members alleged that certain relevant portions of the geological and geotechnical investigations undertaken by the Geological Survey of India “were suppressed” in the final environmental impact assessment report on the project at Reang near Rambi.

“The very existence of NH 31A would be in danger if the NHPC, as planned, constructs 10 dams on the Teesta,” said Karma Pempahishey, a member of the committee.

The committee also disputed the NHPC claim that a proper public hearing was conducted by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board before starting work on the project. “How could they conduct the hearing when two nominated members of the board from Kalimpong, P.T. Bhutia and B.S. Thapa, were not even intimated about it?” asked Pempahishey.

The committee comprises representatives from tourism, trade and NGOs from Siliguri, Darjeeling, Sikkim and Kalimpong. “Depending on the response to our memorandum, we will decide on our next course of action,” said D. Tshering, who heads the committee.

The landslide at 27 Mile has revived the old debate on the feasibility of constructing a dam on the Teesta basin, given that both ecological and seismological profiling marks the area as very fragile.