VIJAYAWADA: The Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has once again deferred the proposal of the State government seeking an amendment to the environmental clearances (ECs) of existing projects, of which Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) is an integral part, asking for more information. The EAC has sought a ‘holistic report’ on water availability in Krishna along with details of existing and future schemes, including hydropower projects as envisaged in an approved master plan of the river development.
According to the minutes of the 14th EAC meeting uploaded late Monday, the 15-member committee, which made repeated observations about the ongoing case filed by Telangana in the NGT, also sought a study showing the pre and post project temporal simulations of drawl of water from the reservoir.
Detailed status of other lift projects in the region/neighbouring States along with the status of environmental clearance, and the location of any wildlife sanctuary, reserved forest area and other ecological habitats likely to be affected by the reduced level in the reservoir post construction of the project are still required from the project proponent, the EAC said.
EAC to meet in July-end to discuss proposal
While observing that the project proposal does not involve construction of any new storage structure, the EAC noted that it received several representations against the project from civil society besides the objections raised by Telangana. The EAC, which meets once in three weeks, is expected to meet again in the last week of July to discuss AP’s proposal. It may be recalled that the water resources officials sought the amendment to the ECs of Telugu Ganga Project (TGP), Galeru Nagari Sujala Sravanthi (GNSS) and Srisailam Right Bank Canal (SRBC) as the proposed RLIS is an integral part of the three projects.
In the 13th EAC meeting held on June 16, the members wanted more information and deferred a decision. In the subsequent meeting held on July 7 too, additional information was sought. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy had also written to the MoEF explaining the need to take up RLIS and seeking clearance for the same.