Dehradun, Oct. 15 -- Expressing serious concern over the dumping of muck and debris in and around the 8th-century Laxmi Narayan Temple in Haat village of Chamoli district, the Uttarakhand high court has directed the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation India Ltd. (THDCIL) to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment of the site and submit the report to the court. The division bench of Chief Justice G Narender and Justice Subash Upadhyay, while hearing the PIL of Gram Sabha Haat, on September 22, had also directed THDCIL to apprise it of the roadmap for removal of the debris from the area. Besides, the court also directed the Uttarakhand government to carry out a study of the site of the Laxmi Narayan temple and Haat village and furnish a report on the same by October 17, when the matter will be heard next by the high court. The HC in its order noted, "We have seen the photos. The quantum of debris dumped in the mountainous region is shocking. That apart, the stocking of all the pre-fabricated concrete pieces in one place, keeping in mind the fragility of the Himalayan region, does not appeal to us". Akash Vashishtha, counsel for the petitioner said he apprised the high court that the site in question is an 8-9th century Laxmi Narayan Temple built by Adi Shankaracharya and adjoining it was the Haat village, almost equivalently old as the temple itself. "The HC had already noted the old history of the temple and had directed prohibition of any muck dumping within 100 meters of the temple site and complete protection thereto. However, the said debris continues to be at the site, as seen in the photographs, which has resulted in huge devastation in the flashflood incidents in 2023 as well as this year," said Vashishtha. "This huge mountain of muck and debris is likely to fall anytime, resulting in an unimaginable, unprecedented scale of human toll," he said. "Three ASI reports, along with a detailed report of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) have very strongly recommended protection of the temple site," Vashishtha added. Earlier, in September 2022, the high court had issued directions for halting any kind of debris dumping in the vicinity of 8-9th century old Laxmi-Narayan temple cluster in Chamoli district's Haat village and adjoining areas. The PIL had alleged illegal and unscientific dumping of muck, debris, construction and demolition wastes in and around Haat village and failure of authorities concerned in protecting and conserving the ancient Lakshmi-Narayan Temple, built by Adi Shankaracharya....