Fisherfolk and environmental activists led by former TDP MLA Vanamadi Kondababu on Thursday appealed to the Joint Committee constituted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to protect the 100-acre mangrove ecosystem from being diverted for housing purpose.
The NGT committee, headed by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change representative C. Palpandi, visited the site in Dummulapeta area on Thursday.
East Godavari Joint Collector G. Lakshmisha and other officials submitted details of the housing project on the site, an ecologically important area with a backwater channel, and the mangrove cover that was levelled for the housing project.
“The nearly 100-acre site comprised a backwater channel and mangrove cover, serving as a navigational channel for fishing boats and fishing for local folk. The levelling is a major threat for the Kakinada city,” Mr. Kondababu told the committee.
The petitioner, Bolisetti Satyanarayana, had to leave the site before the arrival of the committee as a section of people did not allow him to stay there to interact with the committee members.
The local communities led by fisherfolk alleged that the district authorities had levelled the site by depositing a huge quantity of soil during the lockdown period.
Tension prevailed for some time at the site as local people split into groups taking different positions over the issue.
However, the committee completed the field study and is expected to submit a report to the National Green Tribunal within a few weeks.
