HYDERABAD: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has taken suo motu cognisance of a newspaper report highlighting concerns over a proposed coal mine near the UNESCO-recognised Ramappa Temple and Ramappa Lake in Mulugu district and issued notices to authorities.
A bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad registered Original Application No. 594 of 2026 based on the report published on October 5.
In its November 4 order, the Tribunal said the proposed mining project of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) raised serious environmental and heritage conservation concerns.
The report stated that excavation was proposed within 300 metres of Ramappa Lake. It also cited Geological Survey of India concerns that water levels in the lake could influence groundwater movement through geological lineaments and faults towards the proposed mine. Questions were also raised over the possible impact on the temple’s 800-year-old sand-box foundation, which was reportedly showing signs of distress.
The NGT said the matter raised substantial questions over compliance with environmental norms and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
It impleaded the Telangana Pollution Control Board, Mulugu District Collector, Central Pollution Control Board, the Chennai Regional Office of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Central Ground Water Authority as respondents. They were directed to file replies through affidavits before the next hearing.
The Principal Bench transferred the case to the NGT’s Southern Zonal Bench in Chennai, which has jurisdiction over the matter. The next hearing is scheduled for December 21.