Governance & Administration · Namchi district, Sikkim, India
Tribunal demands answers after 25 workers die in Sikkim hydropower tunnel
Published
The National Green Tribunal has taken suo motu notice of at least 25 worker deaths attributed in the report to a suspected methane release inside an under-construction NHPC hydropower tunnel in Sikkim. It directed pollution-control authorities and the Namchi district administration to report on the circumstances. The cause remains described as suspected rather than finally established.
Why it matters
The scale of the workplace disaster raises urgent questions about tunnel ventilation, gas monitoring, emergency readiness, worker protection and accountability across a major public-sector infrastructure project.
Evidence assessment
EastMojo reports the tribunal's intervention, death toll and suspected methane release; technical findings and agency explanations remain outstanding.
Medium confidence — A regional report identifies the formal NGT action, but the incident's precise cause awaits the ordered submissions.
Coverage assessment
Developing across 1 source desk.
Regional reporting records a fast-moving regulatory response to a mass-fatality infrastructure incident.