HYDERABAD: Three eminent scientists-cum-environmentalists have written to Chief Secretary K Somesh Kumar, asking him to immediately bring back provisions and protections granted by GO 111 in light of the numerous grey areas left behind by GO 69 that lifted the restrictions ensured by the earlier order.The signatories include Dr Narasimha Reddy Donthi, BV Subba Rao and Prof K Purushotham Reddy.
The letter points to the ambiguity of terms of reference, absence of any deadline to submit the report, the fact that a report not being in place before the terms of reference have been decided. It said that this could lead to physical and temporal change in the catchment area of the lakes. They said that owing to the lack of strong rules, real estate developers are free to develop layouts and undertake constructions, investing crores of rupees, in 314 sq km area which does not augur well for the preservation of lakes
“It was also reported that the Chief Minister stated ‘there could be anarchy if the GO, which affected 83 villages and 1.32 lakh acres, was lifted at once. Therefore, the MAUD Minister and officials had been asked to address the issue in a phased manner after preparing master plans and green zones,” the letter said.
The letter questioned why the expert committee report was not yet ready. “GO 69 was released to unknown sources on April 19, 2022, without clarifying or referring to the Expert Committee Report,” the letter mentioned.The scientists also questioned the ToR given to the new Committee without mentioning date or deadline.