NGT stays Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation project works

Hyderabad: In a jolt to Telangana state government, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday ordered a stay on Palamuru-Rangareddy lift irrigation project. It directed Telangana government not to go ahead with the projects until environmental clearances are obtained from the Centre.

According to D.Madhuri Reddy, counsel for the Andhra Pradesh government in NGT, the southern bench of NGT in Chennai issued orders to this effect on Friday.

The AP government impleaded in a petition filed by a resident of Mahbubnagar district in the National Green Tribunal in August this year against the project alleging environmental violations.

Earlier in July this year, the NGT ordered the constitution of the joint committee to inspect project works following the petition filed by D Chandramouleswara Reddy, a farmer from Kadapa, along with other farmers from Rayalaseema, Prakasam, Guntur and Krishna districts against the project.

In the petition, the AP government alleged that the TS government ‘dubiously and artificially’ divided the PRLIS into two phases – irrigation (83.9 TMC) and drinking water with evaporation losses (6.1 TMC) – to evade legal scrutiny.

The NGT's joint committee inspected projects works in September and submitted a report to NGT in October first week stating that Telangana took up irrigation works in Palamuru-Rangareddy project, instead of permitted drinking water component works. The NGT said that it is a violation of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification, 2016. The joint committee suggested imposition of an environmental compensation of Rs  3,70,87,500 on Telangana.

Following this, the NGT Chennai bench ordered a stay on Palarmaru-Rangareddy project works.