VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh High Court directed the Union ministry of environment and forest to reconstitute a five-member committee from five central agencies to conduct the survey on Rushikonda Hill Resort and submit a report by January 31. It adjourned the next hearing to February 1.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra and Justice N. Jayasurya heard a petition recently and directed the MoEF to reformulate a committee with one representative from five central agencies, including the MoEF, Vijayawada; national institute of oceanography, Visakhapatnam; national centre for sustainable coastal management; central public works department in Vijayawada and central pollution control board (CPCB) in New Delhi.
The court further made it clear that the change in the members of the committee was only to avoid conflict of interest and to avoid any adverse inference to be drawn with regard to the committee composed earlier and observed that the committee should be reformulated deputing officers from the five central agencies mentioned by the court and directed the MoEF to issue fresh orders constituting the committee within two weeks.
Earlier, the court directed the MoEF to depute a team of officers to conduct a survey at Rushikonda Hill Resort following allegations and counter-allegations on the exact extent of area allegedly being used over and above the area permitted for construction activity by the MoEF and as the MoEF in Vijayawada constituted a committee of five officers, objections were raised by petitioner Jana Sena leader P.L.N. Murthy Yadav on the panel said that the committee consisted of three officials from Andhra Pradesh.
The petitioner alleged that AP Tourism Development Corporation was carrying out works on Rushikonda beyond the limit stipulated by the MoEF.
