Chennai-based National Green Tribunal Southern Zone has ordered that five sponge iron plant at Nemakallu and Hirehal in the district to pay ₹7 crore as environmental compensation.
It has also asked the A.P. Pollution Control Board to prevail upon these units to immediately install online continuous ambient air quality monitoring systems.
In a virtual hearing held Monday last, Justice K. Ramakrishnan, Judicial Member, and K. Satyagopal, Expert Member, had accepted the environmental compensation calculated on March 24 this year by the APPCB on the five sponge iron units and asked the board to follow due process for levying the same.
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They disposed of an application filed by Kuruba Shiva Reddy, a resident of Nemakallu, and two others during the hearing. Counsel Sravan Kumar had argued the case on behalf of the applicants.
The NGT had ordered the closure of all the five units in the past. Three of the units had resumed operations after developing the necessary green belt. Out of the five units, four had provided the continuous ambient air quality monitoring system, and they had been directed to install four more and together maintain them upstream and downstream, near the forest, at a distance of 2.5 km to monitor the PM10, SO2, and NOx, which they were yet to install.
Two units –Rav’s Steels Pvt. Limited and Sri Ramanjaneya Ispat Limited – need to develop a green belt in four acres and 4.7 acres respectively (33% of total area).
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The extent of imposing environmental compensation against the erring units was left open to the APPCB, after complying with the procedure in accordance with the law and after issuing necessary show-cause notice, showing the details of violations and the manner in which compensation had been assessed.
The NGT had given the units an opportunity to file their objections with the APPCB. After proper hearing, appropriate orders should be passed regarding the compensation, it said.