HYDERABAD: The Irrigation department has decided to take legal recourse against the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order on Palamuru-Rangareddy and Dindi Lift Irrigation schemes. A day after the NGT delivered its verdict, staying the continuation of works and slapping a penalty of hundreds of crores on Telangana, top officials of the TS irrigation department held a meeting with legal experts.
The NGT directed the State government to pay Rs 920 crore within three months for violating the rules during the construction of the PRLIS and Dindi LIS. The officials studied the verdict in-depth and sought the counsel of an additional advocate general to decide the further course of action. After receiving suggestions from the AAG, the irrigation officials would submit their report to the government. In all likelihood, the State government may challenge the NGT order in the Supreme Court.
The irrigation officials recalled that stage-1 environmental clearance was accorded to Palamuru-Rangareddy in 2017. However, due to heatwaves for one year and Covid-19 for two years, the conduct of public hearings for stage-2 approvals was delayed.
Finally, the State government conducted public hearings and submitted the proposals for stage-2 clearance too in 2021. “We have presented all these facts to the NGT. We have tried our best. The works were meant for providing drinking water to the people living in parched areas,” a senior official said. The officials said that the issues raised by the NGT in its verdict were not acceptable to them and they would challenge them legally.