Visakhapatnam: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has said it would form its own committee to study the violations that have taken place at the Rushikonda Hill Resort here.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Jana Sena leader and GVMC corporator PLN Murthy Yadav on Wednesday. Earlier, it asked the respondents to get a survey done by the MoEF officials. But the state government included three of its officials as a part of the 5-member committee. The petitioner raised an objection -- that the state officials should not be a part of the panel.
The court asked the government how it could appoint its own officials when faced with allegations in court. In order to get at facts, the court will appoint its own committee, for which a decision would be taken on Thursday, it said.
The court asked the petitioner to file objections afresh vis-à-vis the government committee.
The petitioner stated that the three officials were from the departments of AP coastal zone management authority, the town and country planning and the AP pollution control board. He said the state’s special chief secretary is chairman of the APCZMA.
In the case pertaining to illegal activity in Tenneti Park in violation of CRZ regulations, the high court noticed that wrong information (demarcation of CRZ-I and CRZ-11) was fed to the MOEF to obtain its permission .
The erring officers have to be summoned. Thus the track record of APCZ of APCZMA and the state government regarding the correct identification of CRZ was not very encouraging.
In fact, the AP pollution control board is headed by a former AP chief secretary and a serving IAS officer of the AP cadre is the secretary. The same officer is secretary to APCZMA . Thus officers of the APCZMA and APPCB are under the same set of officers.
The GVMC is respondent to the present case and is part of the town country planning activity. Thus, two of the respondents to this case have been made members of the committee. The AP government officers are heading and controlling the APPCB, a representative of which is the fifth member of the committee.
