MAHABUBNAGAR: The National Green Tribunal in Chennai has ordered the constitution of an expert committee to examine and submit a report to it regarding alleged violations of the Water Act and Environment Protection Rules, 1986 in the construction of the Udandapur reservoir which is part of the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS).
On Friday, the NGT admitted the petition filed by Kosgi Venkataiah from Rajapur mandal and sent notices to the Central Pollution Control Board, Irrigation Department of Telangana, Mahabubnagar District Collector, Superintending Engineer of PRLIS and Mining AD of Telangana.
The petitioner alleged that there was indiscriminate removal of black soil in minor irrigation tanks in several villages close to the Udandapur reservoir for construction of a 15.865-km bund, posing a grave threat to the quality of the lakes and groundwater and adversely affecting the water storage capacity of the lakes. He claimed that Mission Kakatiya de-silting works were already done in those tanks and due to further digging as deep as 10-25 feet, rain water may not get stored in the tanks for a longer period, resulting in water vanishing from them due to percolation.
Additional Advocate General Ramchander Rao objected to the petition questioning its merits as the project was taken up in 2016 itself. The NGT Chennai bench comprising Justice Ramakrishnan and Expert Member Satyagopal informed the AAG that the petition was not intended to stall the project, but was regarding violations of environmental laws.
To inquire into the violations, the NGT has ordered the constitution of an expert committee comprising a senior official from the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests’ regional office, a scientist from the Central Pollution Control Board’s Chennai regional office, Mahabubnagar District Collector and Director of Mines and Geology. The tribunal has asked for the report to be submitted before August 27, when the next hearing would be held.