Congress Government Exposes BRS and KTR's Hypocrisy over Naval Radar Station

Hyderabad: The Congress government on Monday exposed the double standards and hypocrisy of the BRS and its working president K.T. Rama Rao regarding the establishment of a Navy radar station at Pudur village in Damagundam forest of Vikarabad district.

The foundation for the naval station will be laid by defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday in the presence of Union ministers G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.

The Congress government has released crucial documents showing that all necessary approvals for the project were granted by the BRS government. Despite Rama Rao's current opposition to the radar station, official documents reveal that the BRS government had issued GO Ms. No. 44 on December 12, 2017, permitting the diversion of 1,174 hectares (2,900 acres) of forest land in the Damagundam reserve forest for the radar station.

These approvals were granted in favour of the Eastern Naval Command, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

The Congress government on Monday ridiculed Rama Rao for condemning the very project his own government had sanctioned and termed his utterances as ‘hypocritical’ and ‘politically motivated’. "This exposes the true nature of Rao and the BRS leadership. They are now opposing a project of grave national security importance," it said.

"Revanth Reddy is upholding the principles of continuity in governance and cooperative federalism by supporting this critical defence project," it stated.

They pointed out that the previous BRS government was fully aware of the project and had supported it at every stage, further undermining their current criticism.

The foundation-laying ceremony will proceed as planned, with the state government standing by its decision to prioritise national security and ensure that crucial defence infrastructure is developed.

The state government clarified that the proposed Navy radar station project will have a minimal impact on trees. Out of the total 2,900 acres, 1,500 acres will be retained as green belt, ensuring preservation of significant forest cover. The remaining 1,400 acres will be used for the project without any need for tree felling.

The government stated that if trees are affected by the development, they would be translocated within the same area. According to a report from naval officers, less than 1,000 trees will need to be moved, a small fraction of the total 1.95 lakh trees enumerated within the entire 2,900 acres.

Project Timeline:

2014

Aug. 11: Initial demand notice issued by district forest officer, Vikarabad, for payments related to compensatory afforestation (CA), Net Present Value (NPV).

2017

Feb. 25: Revised demand notice issued following wage rate changes and location modifications for plantation.

March 2: User agency deposited ₹133.54 crore into the CAMPA account for compensatory costs and extraction charges for tree removal.

May 25: Compliance report on Stage-I of the project submitted to the state government by the principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF).

July 31: Additional information sought by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC).

Sept. 21: Additional compliance information submitted to MoEF&CC by the BRS government.

Nov. 14: Final Stage-II approval granted by the MoEF&CC for diversion of 1,174 hectares of forest land.

Dec. 19: Final approval issued by the BRS government under GO Ms. No. 44.