HYDERABAD: The Environment Assessment Committee (EAC) has deferred the environmental clearance (EC) for Phase II of the Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) due to insufficient information. This decision was made during the EAC’s 44th meeting held on June 27.
The Phase II of the PRLIS covers a gross command area of 8,83,945 hectares, spanning 1,226 villages in 70 mandals across six districts: Vikarabad, Rangareddy, Mahbubnagar, Narayanpet, Nagarkurnool and Nalgonda.
During the meeting, the EAC observed that the project proponent had not appropriately calculated the damage cost in accordance with the standard operating procedure (SOP). They recommended revising the environmental damage cost, as well as the remediation plan and community augmentation plan, and requested that all calculations be consolidated into a single table.
T Harish Rao, the Irrigation and Finance Minister, met with Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Union Jal Shakti Minister, on Tuesday to urge the expeditious granting of environmental permissions by the authorities concerned.
The proposal for environmental clearance for the project was initially considered by the EAC in its 34th meeting on September 14, 2022. During the 40th EAC meeting on January 25, it was decided to form a committee comprising EAC members with expertise to address matters related to mitigation, restoration and rehabilitation measures.
The committee had requested the project proponent to provide information regarding a bank guarantee, assessment of ecological damage in terms of air, land, and water, preparation of an environmental management plan including remediation and community resource augmentation plans, socio-economic studies, remedial measures and groundwater recharge in fluoride-affected areas to reduce fluoride levels.
The project proponent claimed that the total environmental damage cost for the project is Rs 142.47 crore, but this figure is being disputed by the EAC.