VIJAYAWADA: The expert committee appointed by the National Green Tribunal to assess the environmental management plan in the execution of Polavaram Irrigation Project has submitted its report making several recommendations including construction of a suitable retaining wall at the waste dumping site, conducting stability analysis and designing the slope of soil dump to prevent failure of surface.
The committee also noted that the ambient air quality, groundwater quality and soil quality were well within permissible standards and that the muck dumping was not a source for any contamination.The committee, headed by former judge of AP High Court Seshasayana Reddy, held field visits and conducted a public hearing on March 30 this year, after the NGT directed it to study the issues raised in the application filed by environmentalist Pentapati Pulla Rao regarding dumping of construction material.
In its field visit, the committee said, it observed that there was no scientific design of the site to dump of muck, no retaining wall to prevent the silt into the Kadiamma vaagu, no measures were adopted to prevent dust storm during dumping/unloading of muck, no proper slope was maintained and muck was dumped haphazardly. “As on the date of the committee’s visit to Mulalanka dump yard, no safety measures were adopted for stability of the dump site,” it noted.
It said that the ambient air quality data, conducted inside the BC Colony, for 48 days showed that PM10 and PM2.5 exceeded the prescribed limits on eight and 13 days respectively. “However, it cannot be concluded that the exceeding of PM concentrations is only due to muck dump,” the panel clarified.
The groundwater and soil were not contaminated, it added. “Hence, there is no chance of soil and water pollution in the nearby areas. Based on the monitoring report of CSIR-NEERI, except dust pollution on some occasions, no other environmental damages observed in surrounding areas of Mulalanka dump yard,” the committee concluded.However, it made recommendations based on public feedback and field observations.
It said that judicial interpretation was needed to see if acquisition of additional land for the dump yard meant change in scope of the project. “Suitable retaining wall with required specifications [needs] to be constructed at the toe of Mulalanka dump site along the realigned Kadiamma vaagu. Horizontal and vertical storm water drains [need] to be made to regulate the flow of dump catchment to Kadiamma vaagu,” the committee said. It also made recommendations on growing necessary vegetation.