Andhra Pradesh may appeal against green tribunal order on LIS
VIJAYAWADA: The State government is likely to file an appeal against the direction of the National Green Tribunal which said that the environment clearance (EC) was necessary for Purushothapatnam Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS), Pattiseema LIS and Chintalapudi LIS.
The appeal will be made in an ‘appropriate legal forum’ after examining the tribunal’s orders uploaded on Thursday.
“Purushothapatnam LIS is for lifting Godavari water at two stages — Purushothapatnam to Polavaram Left Main Canal and from there to Yeleru Reservoir — to meet the drinking water needs of Visakhapatnam city and the villages en route. Where is the question of irrigation? Moreover, the committee constituted by the NGT only looked into Purushothapatnam LIS, but not into the other two schemes. But, it said that the damages and compensation have to be assessed, when there is no damage. So, we will appeal in the appropriate legal forum against the order,” a senior official explained.
For the record, the principal bench of the NGT, on Wednesday, said that EC and environment impact assessment (EIA) for Purushothapatnam LIS were necessary as the ‘project has potential impact’ on the environment. It also constituted a committee — with members from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), AP PCB, State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), and East Godavari district collector — to determine the ‘extent of damage’ caused and ‘the amount of compensation liable to be paid to the affected people.
It also asked the committee to determine the amount of compensation payable for undertaking the project
without EC.Though the State government contended that Purushothapatnam LIS was neither a hydroelectric project with dam/barrage nor an irrigation project with component of canal system and distrubutory network, the tribunal, based on the joint committee report that said the project has irrigation component, noted that EC was necessary.
In fact, when the State government’s counsel sought the adjournment of the case as the joint committee report of the committee was not furnished to the State, the tribunal noted, “There is no prejudice to the state of AP as it is fully conversant with the issue and also presented its view point before the joint committee constituted by the tribunal. The report is reiteration of the stand of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. We don’t find any justification for adjournment or rejecting the view of the independent committee,” the order, uploaded on Thursday, said.
“The project has potential of impact on the environment and is not merely for water supply, but also involves irrigation, and thus EIA and EC are necessary as per the procedure laid down in the EIA Notification, 2006,” the tribunal observed.In this context, the state water resources department is likely to file an appeal against the order as the tribunal has not considered the views of Andhra Pradesh.
The state may either appeal in the Supreme Court or in the tribunal after getting legal opinion.