PIL against KC Valley, court says eco study must

The high court on Wednesday sought the government’s opinion about appointing a central agency to prepare a comprehensive assessment report on the proposed KC Valley project.

A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Mohammad Nawaz was hearing a public interest litigation petition on Wednesday filed by R Anjaneya Reddy questioning the project.

The bench said the central agency should conduct a study on the environmental, health and social impact if the Koramangala-Challaghatta Valley (KC Valley) irrigation project is implemented.

The government’s counsel submitted that it has asked the Center for Ecological Sciences of Indian Institute of Science to conduct a comprehensive study of the project.

However, the bench said while the court had sought a comprehensive report on the project, the government has requested the agency to conduct a study only on the quality of the water.

Responding to this, the counsel said the water would be provided to the lakes of Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts and not for the drinking purpose.

However, the petitioner’s advocate Prince Isac said they wanted the bench to direct the government to conduct a study on the socio-economic and environmental impact of the project, and that it would be better to appoint a central agency like the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) for the purpose.

Considering this, the bench sought the government’s opinion and adjourned the matter to September 24.