The Central environmental body had slapped the penalty on Telangana for proceeding with the PRLIS and DLIS projects.
Supreme Court. (Creative Commons)
The Telangana government has decided to file a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging imposition of environmental compensation and a penalty of Rs.920.85 crore on it by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
The Central environmental body had slapped the penalty on Telangana for proceeding with the construction of the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) and Dindi Lift Irrigation Scheme (DLIS) in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district.
“We will file the petition after completing all the formalities in a week,” said Special Chief Secretary (Irrigation and Command Area Development) Rajat Kumar.
He was interacting with reporters after attending a Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) meeting convened at Jala Soudha in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Kumar, along with Engineer-in-Chief Ch Muralidhar, attended the meeting chaired by GRMB Chairman MK Sinha on behalf of the Telangana government.
Officials also discussed the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) of Modikunta Vagu in the erstwhile Warangal district and the Gudem Lift Irrigation Project in the Adilabad district.
The neighbouring Andhra Pradesh raised certain objections over the DPRs.
However, the Telangana government was hopeful of getting the necessary clearances for the two projects soon, he said.
Polavaram backwater, which is a concern for Telangana, also came up for discussion.
However, the GRMB officials advised officials from Telangana to take up the matter with Polavaram Project Authority.
A decision was also taken to refer the matter related to the study of the excess water in the Godavari to the Central Water Commissioner (CWC).
The meeting has also resolved to instal telemetry on the five interstate borders on a priority basis.
In its verdict delivered a few days ago, the NGT said the Telangana government should not proceed with the PRLIS without following the procedure for obtaining environmental clearance — screening, scoping, public consultation, and appraisal.
It being a new project, the government was directed to submit the project report before the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) and get their appraisal done and get the approval and sanction of the Apex Council.
The tribunal gave the verdict while responding to petitions filed by D Chandramouleswara Reddy and others.
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