A bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) headed by its Chairperson Justice Satwanter Kumar, Justice Raghuvendra R. Rathore and Expert Member Bikram Singh Sajwan has directed that a Joint Inspection Team of Ministry of Environment Forests & Climate Change (MoF&CC) and a representative of the Central Pollution Control Board visit the Polaravaram site and submit a detailed Report to the Tribunal by the March 21, the next date of hearing in the case related to alleged submergence of villages.
In a directive on different representations on behalf of those who claim to have been impacted due to the project, the Tribunal in a brief order on March 10 said that the Joint Inspection Team of MoEF & CC and a representative of the Central Pollution Control Board shall visit the site and submit a detailed Report to the Tribunal, by the next date of hearing.
The case pertaining to Pentapati Pullarao vs. Union of India & Ors. before the bench consisting of Justice Kumar, Justice Raghuvendra S. Rathore and expert member Bikram Singh Sajwan.
The Counsel appearing for different respondents had prayed for further time to file their replies.
“Replies should be filed, positively, within one week from today as we are presently not granting any interim order and would hear the matter. If the respondents now fail to file their replies, their right to file the same shall stand forfeited”, the brief order said.
The different applicants had contended that the Polavaram Indira Sagar Project proposed by Andhra Pradesh is under construction in West Godavari district in the State since 2005.
According to them the permissions for the projects are still pending at different levels including Supreme Court of India with regard to submergence of large scale Tribal areas in the Scheduled area and huge forest and wild life sanctuaries in the upstream of Polavaram Project. The application had said that the Union of India declared Polavaram Project as National Project on March 1, 2014 and established a special authority to execute it.
“Since few months Polavaram Project officials are working day and night to build the dam illegally even after the project has been declared as National Project. During the process of building foundations to the dam, large scale excavation is taking place in the area.
“The project officials and local revenue authorities are allowing the contractors to dump the mud from excavation in the nearby villages in huge quantity illegally, without any permission,” the petitioners contended.
These villages do not come under submergence area of Polavaram Project and people living in safer areas are facing serious environmental problem because of the waste mud thrown in 300 acres of open lands surrounding the villages.
They had sought the court bench to direct the contractors to stop the dumping in villages in West Godavari, direct the Ministry of Forest to conduct environmental assessment in dumping area.
