Telangana: Chanaka-Korata barrage in Adilabad gets environment clearance

The Chanaka-Korata (Rudha) barrage is a Telangana-Maharashtra joint project on the Penganga river to irrigate 6,677 hectares of land.

BySouth First Desk

Published Jan 14, 2023 | 1:50 AMUpdatedJan 14, 2023 | 1:51 AM

A total of 23 villages, consisting of 283 persons, are likely to be affected due to this project. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on Friday, 13 January, granted environment clearance (EC) to the Chanaka-Korata (Rudha) barrage on the Penganga river in Telangana’s Adilabad district.

The permission for the interstate irrigation project came more than three years after an application was submitted for it.

The ministry granted the clearance strictly under provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) 2006 notification and its amendments, said Yogendra Pal Singh, Scientist E (River Valley and Hydroelectric Projects Sector).

He stated this in a letter addressed to the Telangana Irrigation Department’s chief engineer in Adilabad.

Terms of the EC

The project proponent shall prepare a site-specific conservation and wildlife management plan in case of the presence of Schedule-I species in the study area, as applicable to the project, and submit it to the chief wildlife warden for approval, the letter stated.

The recommendations shall be implemented in consultation with the state forest or wildlife department in a time-bound manner.

No further expansion or modifications in the plan, other than mentioned in the 2006 EIA notification and its amendments, shall be carried out without prior approval of the ministry.

In case of deviations or alterations in the project proposal from those submitted to the ministry for clearance, a fresh reference shall be made to the ministry to assess the adequacy of conditions imposed and to add additional environmental protection measures required, stated the letter.

The government shall also comply with all the environmental protection measures and safeguards proposed in the documents submitted to the ministry, it added.

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For the environment

All these recommendations made in the EIA and Environmental Management Plan (EMP), with respect to environmental management and risk mitigation measures relating to the project, shall be implemented, stated the letter.

All relevant measures for improving the socio-economic conditions of the surrounding area should be undertaken.

The letter added that corporate environment responsibility (CER) activities shall be undertaken by involving local villages and administration. Eco-developmental measures, including community welfare measures in the project area for the overall improvement of the environment, should be undertaken.

A separate environmental management cell equipped with full-fledged laboratory facilities shall be set up to carry out the environmental management and monitoring functions, stated the letter.

Sufficient funds towards capital costs and a recurring cost per annum to implement the conditions stipulated by the ministry as well as the state government, along with the implementation schedule for all the conditions stipulated herein, must be earmarked.

A copy of the clearance letter shall be sent by the project proponent to the panchayat, zila parishad, municipal corporation, urban local body and the local NGO concerned, if any, from whom suggestions or representations were received while processing the proposal.

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Information is key

The letter stated that the project proponent shall also submit six-monthly reports on the status of compliance with the stipulated EC conditions, including results of monitored data (both in hard copy and by email) to the respective regional office of the ministry, the respective zonal office of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Board (SPCB).

The project proponent shall inform the public that the project has been accorded the EC by the ministry and copies of the clearance letter are available with the SPCB and may also be accessed at https://parivesh.nic.in/.

This shall be advertised within seven days from the date of issue of the clearance letter in at least two local newspapers that are widely circulated in the region — one in the vernacular language of the locality concerned.

The project authorities shall inform the regional office as well as the ministry of the date of financial closure and final approval of the project by the authorities concerned and the date of start of the project.

The EC was granted subject to the final outcome of the Supreme Court, high court, National Green Tribunal, and any other court of law, if any, as may be applicable to this project, Singh said in the letter.

Project details

The Chanaka-Korata (Rudha) barrage is a joint project between Telangana and Maharashtra on the Penganga river, and is independent of the joint Lower Penganga Project.

The project envisages the construction of a barrage across the Penganga river downstream from the Lower Penganga Project to irrigate an area of 6,677 hectares (5,463 hectares in Telangana and 1,214 hectares in Maharashtra).

The command area lies in 14 villages of three mandals — Tamsi and Jainad in the Adilabad district of Telangana — and nine villages in Kelapur tehsil of the Yavatmal district of Maharashtra.

The gross command area of the project is 10,442.913 hectares.

The overall land requirement for the project is 228.08 hectares, which comprises 181.26 hectares from Telangana and 46.82 hectares from Maharashtra. The total submergence area is about 31.16 acres in Telangana.

A total of 23 villages, consisting of 283 persons, are likely to be affected due to this project.

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The Telangana government has already acquired this private land with a Relief and Rehabilitation (R&R) budget of ₹17.8 crore. The total cost of the project is about ₹399.16 crore.

The construction work is likely to be completed in two years. The major components of the project are a barrage, a reservoir, a pump house, pressure mains, an approach bund, and a canal network.

A broad crested-type barrage is designed with a length of 342 metres, having 23 gates.