Telangana, AP get Supreme Court notices on Polavaram

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday sought the response of the Centre and the states of AP, TS, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh challenging the implementation of the Polavaram project . A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Prafulla Pant issued the notice after hearing senior counsel Nirup Reddy and Saravan Kumar appearing for petitioner RELA, an NGO. The Bench, while issuing notice directed the writ petition to be tagged with related matters pending in the apex court.  

The petitioner said in the case of Polavaram project, the statuary provisions of The Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act 2006, The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013, Environment (Protection) Act 1986, The Forest (Conservation) Act 1980 were blatantly and continuously violated by Polavaram Project Authority under Union water resource ministry and the other ministries.

It alleged that these ministries have become silent spectators and are not protecting the environment and project affected people. “They are not performing their statuary duties prescribed under various welfare laws/Acts and even the Constitution,” it alleged. It pointed out that eight cases are pending before this Court pertaining to illegalities in Polavaram project for more than a decade.

The petitioner said that due to pendency of cases, the respondents had deliberately avoided performing their responsibilities and obligations resulting in large scale destruction of environment, forest and irreparable loss to about four lakhs people including two and half lakhs Tribals and Dalits. This is likely to take place in the states of Chhattisgarh, TS, Odisha and AP, the petition said.

The members of the petitioner organisation said that they are likely to lose their valuable fertile lands, houses under Polavaram project hence they are affected parties, and sought court intervention to stop further damage.