The court wanted to know why the ministry was not acting on its orders requiring placement before it of the report of the 13-member expert committee, which was asked to study environmental degradation caused by such projects.
"You (Ministry of Environment and Forests-MoEF) are behaving like a 'Kumbhakarna'. What is your intention. Why after so much time granted you have not submitted the report. We are not vacating the stay," a bench comprising Justices Dipak Mishra and R F Nariman observed.
The bench was also anguished that despite its another order passed a year after on August 12, 2014, the MoEF has not filed the report.
It noted that the order had specifically stated that "This Court expects that the concerned Ministry shall furnish a report qua each project so that the report can be appreciated from proper prospective".
The bench also addressed the controversy relating to the 'design' of the barrage on the Alaknanda and Bhagirath river basins and asked various stake holders like power PSUs -- National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and Tehri Hydro Development Coporation (THDC) and representatives of NGOs to hold preliminary meeting with MoEF on October 15.