HYDERABAD: The laying of a greenfield six-lane ring road around the Yadagirigutta temple by the Telangana government has caused environmental damage to a lake named Oorakunta located near Yadagiripally village, reported the joint committee constituted by National Green Tribunal (NGT).
A petition was filed last year alleging that the Greenfield ring road is damaging the ecosystem of Ooorukunta lake and had sought action against the State government, along with an inquiry by an expert committee into the damages caused. Following this, the NGT constituted a joint committee comprising State and Central government officials.
The joint committee, in its report, stated that the size of Oorukunta lake has reduced due to the dumping of construction debris into the lake’s Full Tank Level (FTL). The committee said the construction of the ring road has also affected the flow of water into Oorukunta from a lake located upstream around 1.5 km away.
The Oorukunta lake has an FTL of five acres and an ayacut of 14 acres. The report also mentioned that the R&B Department, which sanctioned Rs143 crore for the six-lane ring road, was granted due permission to conduct the works along the lake by the Irrigation Department.
The joint committee, which was given the mandate to find out if there has been violation of any environmental laws during construction of the road, mentioned that as the road is categorised neither as a Highway nor an Expressway, it cannot decide whether there has been any violation under the various clauses of Environmental Impact Assessment notification, 2006, and left the matter to the NGT to decide on the damages and compensation to be levied.
However, it recommended removal of the construction debris from the lake, strengthening of bund, giving either additional land to the lake or dredging it to increase water storage capacity, providing canals for water flow between the two lakes and construction of a Sewage Treatment Plant.