HYDERABAD: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday asked the State government to pay Rs 920.85 crore for violating environmental rules while constructing the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) and the Dindi Lift Irrigation Project. The NGT directed Telangana not to proceed with the construction of PRLIS and wanted the State government to get permission from the Apex Council.
Besides this, the ‘deliberate act’ of Telangana constructing the PRLIS without the required permissions and disobeying the orders of NGT would amount to contempt, which is indirect in nature. “A State being a model citizen has disobeyed the procedure and attempted to circumvent the mandatory provisions in spite of a specific finding by the NGT in Appeal No. 20 of 2018”, the NGT said.
Clubbing two petitions filed by Andhra Pradesh farmers separately on the projects, the NGT, in its judgement, directed the State government to deposit the penalty amount with the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to utilise the same for remedial activities.While delivering the judgement, Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana said: “The allegations in both the original applications are identical in nature”.
While disposing of the original applications, the NGT directed that the Telangana government should not proceed with the PRLIS without following the procedure for obtaining Environmental Clearance (EC), namely, screening, scoping, public consultation and appraisal.
Being a new project, they are directed to submit the project report before the KRMB and get their appraisal done and get the approval/sanction of the Apex Council.Since the Tribunal is of the prima-facie view that the component of irrigation is envisaged in the project and the same could not have proceeded without the prior EC, the project proponent is not entitled to proceed with the project and Telangana is restrained from proceeding with the work without getting the EC.
The NGT also directed the Telangana government to pay environmental compensation of Rs 528 crore i.e. 1.5 per cent of the total cost of the project (Rs 35,200 crore) in respect to PRLIS. Similarly, Telangana was also directed to pay an environmental compensation of Rs 92.85 crore in terms of Dindi LIS, which was constructed at Rs 6,190 crore. The NGT set a deadline of three months to deposit the amount with KRMB. Besides, this the NGT also imposed a penalty of Rs 300 crore for the wilful violations of the orders, which also has to be paid to KRMB within three months. “The amount should be used for Krishna river restoration activities,” the NGT order said.
Wilful violations
“Andhra Pradesh also had filed the photographs of the construction activities going on in the PRLIS at all the six reservoirs site. The photographs reveal that there is a deliberate and wilful violation of the interim order issued on October 29, 2021,” the NGT noted.The affidavit filed by Telangana clearly admitted that even after the order was passed on October 29, 2021, the works in packages 1 to 18 were stopped only in the month of November on various dates which were in utter disregard to the orders passed by the tribunal, the NGT said.
Serious structures
“In this case, the State of Telangana is the contemnor, who is the Executive Authority itself whereby undermining the dignity of the Tribunal. If the Tribunal has to perform its duty and functions in a fair and free manner, the dignity authority of the Tribunal has to be respected and maintained at all stages and by all concerned, failing which the object of the Act and also the public faith in the system will be at risk of being lost. Telangana government has admittedly committed the act of contempt which is liable to be punished,” it added.The NGT further stated that the argument of Telangana that they had to continue with the work in disobedience of the order only under compelling circumstances is not acceptable.
Break-up