Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, conducted a joint inspection with Governor Om Prakash Mathur of the under-construction tunnel at the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydroelectric Project in Samardung, Jholungey, Namchi District, following a tragic accident on July 20 that claimed the lives of several workers.

Context

The July 20 incident occurred inside a tunnel being bored as part of the NHPC Teesta Stage VI Hydroelectric Project, a major under-construction hydropower scheme on the Teesta river in southern Sikkim. Chief Minister Tamang and Governor Mathur visited the site together to assess conditions on the ground and review the status of ongoing relief and rescue operations.

In his post, CM Tamang stated that the State Government will 'constitute a high-level enquiry committee to ascertain the exact cause of this unfortunate incident' and will 'extend ex gratia assistance to the families of the deceased workers in accordance with NDRF norms.'

Policy Backdrop

Ex-gratia payments in industrial disasters involving central infrastructure projects are governed by the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which established the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and set norms for state compensation responses. The announcement of a high-level enquiry committee and NDRF-norm compensation follows standard disaster-management protocol for remote infrastructure accidents.

NHPC — the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation — is a central public sector undertaking responsible for constructing the Teesta Stage VI project. Tunnel construction through the fragile Himalayan geology of Sikkim carries inherent geological risks, and the state has seen periodic construction accidents across its cascade of Teesta hydropower projects.

Stakeholders and Impact

The District Administration of Namchi, in coordination with the NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Sikkim Police, a Mine Safety team from Asansol, local residents, and other emergency agencies, is conducting rescue operations at the site. The multi-agency mobilisation, including specialised mine safety expertise from Asansol, indicates the technical complexity of the tunnel rescue.

The most immediate stakeholders are the families of the deceased workers, who are entitled to ex-gratia relief under NDRF norms. Construction workers employed on other NHPC Sikkim tunnel projects may also be affected depending on any safety directives that emerge from the enquiry.

What's Next

The State Government is expected to formally constitute the high-level enquiry committee in the coming days, with its findings likely to determine accountability and inform tunnel-safety protocols across NHPC's other active projects in Sikkim. Disbursement of ex-gratia payments to the bereaved families will be closely watched as a measure of the administration's follow-through.

CM Tamang tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and the PMO and HMO offices in his post, signalling that the state is seeking central government attention and coordination on both the rescue effort and the broader accountability process. The outcome of the enquiry committee could set a precedent for how tunnel accidents at centrally-funded hydropower projects in Himalayan states are handled going forward.