The Southern Zone Bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to visit the worksite of Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) to assess whether the work going on there was for preparation of the detailed project report or more than that and submit a report by August 9.
According to the information reaching here and according to the petitioner G. Srinivas, the counsel appearing for the river board had taken to the tribunal’s notice that Andhra Pradesh government did not allow its team to visit the worksite. Quoting his counsel, the petitioner said the tribunal has set aside the objections of A.P. on the KRMB team’s visit to the RLIS worksite and the tribunal has ordered the river board to visit the worksite on its own and submit a report.
Meanwhile, the Telangana government has submitted to the tribunal that it was ready to arrange a helicopter on its expenditure so that the river board’s team could visit the worksite.
Recently, an expert appraisal committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests has deferred the A.P.’s proposal seeking environmental clearance to RLIS seek wide range of information on the existing and future schemes based on the water availability in the river, including hydro-power projects, as envisaged in an approved master plan of the river developments, status of other similar water lifting projects in the region/neighbouring States along with status of environmental clearance.
