HYDERABAD: The Telangana government received a clean chit from the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) joint committee on the demolition of the old Secretariat building and the construction of a new one. The green court had constituted the committee to look into various allegations levelled by Malkajgiri MP and TPCC working president A Revanth Reddy regarding the project.
The committee, in its report, said when it visited Hyderabad to inspect the demolition site in September, the demolition and transportation of construction and demolition (C&D) waste to the waste treatment facility had been completed. However, records provided by the Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department and the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) indicate that sufficient precautions were taken, it said. It also said the Hussainsagar is 80 m from the old Secretariat and there is no chance of the run-off from C&D waste causing pollution in it.
The joint committee mentioned in its report that 1.14 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of C&D waste was transported from the demolition site to the Hyderabad C&D Waste Private Limited at Jeedimetla where 33,590 MT was already processed (in September). By January 2021, the entire waste would be processed, it said.
In the report, the committee mentioned having a meeting with Revanth Reddy, wherein the MP had claimed that the Hussainsagar is notified under the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and hence its full tank level (FTL) boundary needs to be fixed. He had also said no building/development activity should be allowed inside the FTL of the water body.
The report said according to a clarification obtained by the R&B Department from the Minor Irrigation (Krishna basin) Department of the Telangana government, the Hussainsagar does not classify as a wetland. Also, as per a 2012 rule, the construction of any building is prohibited in 30 m from the FTL of a lake.
Earlier, as reported by TNIE, the TSPCB, in its report, had also said the Hussainsagar is a man-made waterbody and cannot be classified as a wetland, as per the clarification from the Minor Irrigation Department.