The National Green Tribunal has formed a committee and sought an action taken report on a plea against the execution of the Polavaram Irrigation Project without requisite fresh environmental clearance.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel constituted a committee comprising officials from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Ministry of Jal Shakti, state pollution control board and the project proponent.
"The committee will be at liberty to interact with stakeholders concerned. MoEF will be the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. The report may be furnished within one month by e-mail," the bench said.
The tribunal was hearing a plea filed by Pentapati Pulla Rao against the execution of the irrigation project, now renamed as Indira Sagar Polavaram Project, by the Polavaram Project Authority, Hyderabad, without requisite fresh environmental clearance (EC).
The plea filed through advocate Sravan Kumar further stated that the MoEF issued a stop-work order but it has been kept in abeyance for more than 11 years.
"This is resulting in continued violations of the requirement of fresh EC before any substantial changes are effected in the original project for which EC was taken. The State of Andhra Pradesh has given various assurances from time to time but in breach of the same, execution of the project is continuing with serious adverse impact on the environment," the plea said.
Check out DH's latest videos:
Published 05 March 2022, 17:15 IST