The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has rejected the proposal of the Himachal government to use 775 hectares of forestland for the Renuka Dam project in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The project was categorised as one of national importance. Once completed, it was supposed to provide 275 million gallons of potable water per day to Delhi. The total cost of the project was estimated to be Rs 3,300 crore. The Delhi government had already released Rs 225 crore for it. Other northern states, including Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, too, had their stakes in the project. The Himachal Pradesh government had hoped to generate 40 MW of hydro-power by using 542 million cubic metres of water stored in the dam. The environment ministry raised objection since the project involved large-scale felling of trees as well as submerging of a big part of the Renuka wildlife sanctuary. Tarun Kapoor, Managing Director of Himachal Power Corporation, said: