: Members of a sub-committee appointed by the Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change (MoEF) on Thursday inspected the project site for Bhadradri (4 x 270 MW) thermal power station at Manuguru.
A five-member team comprising environmental experts headed by Prof. C.R. Babu extensively toured the entire project site spanning around 8 km in Ramanujavaram, Seetharamapuram and Eddulabayyarm villages in Manuguru and Pinapaka mandals.
Sources said that the members of the sub-committee conducted field inspections of the site to evaluate the environmental conditions, as part of an impact assessment study, in view of the activities already carried out by the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Ltd (TSGenco) at the project site. The team members took pictures of the project site. TSGenco Director (Projects) C. Radhakrishna, Chief Engineer Ratnakar and others were present.
Earlier, the Human Rights Forum (HRF) filed a petition in the southern bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) alleging commencement of the project works without obtaining the mandatory environmental clearance, in violation of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986. The NGT bench has directed the TSGenco to maintain status quo in regard to works on Bhadradri project. It has asked the MoEF to proceed with the project appraisal of the Bhadradri plant, in case the EAC grants its nod. In the event of the EAC denying approval, the MoEF should communicate the same to the regulatory authority, stated the HRF. It has reportedly set a timeframe of eight weeks for the MoEF to decide expeditiously, at any event.
Meanwhile, Mahabubabad MP A Sitaram Naik and Pinapaka MLA Payam Venkateshwarlu submitted a memorandum to the sub-committee members seeking speedy clearances for the project. In the memorandum, they underlined the need for early completion of Bhadradri power project to facilitate direct and indirect employment to local tribal youth and speedy development of Agency areas.
