HYDERABAD: A National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel has directed the Telangana government to pay Rs 22 lakh to National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to assess damage done by Yadadri Temple Development Authority to the environment by constructing a township and road in the temple town.
The NGT’s join inspection committee also observed that Oorakunta Cheruvu has to be restored immediately.
Removal of debris dumped adjacent to Oorakunta is under progress. The project authority has agreed to remove debris within two months.
A proposal on ‘Assessment of the contamination status and environmental damages of Oorakunta Cheruvu, Yadagiripally, Telangana’ was submitted by NEERI, Hyderabad zonal centre, has sought Rs .22.7 lakh and four-month time period to complete the damage assessment study.
NGT South Zone had in December 2017 appointed a joint committee, comprising Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district collector, representatives from the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change, Telangana State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, roads & buildings departments and minor irrigation department, to inspect the area and submit a factual as well as action report, if there was any violation found.
The joint committee had submitted its report on June 30, 2021, along with recommendations for restoration of Oorakunta. Subsequently, NGT issued additional terms of reference, directing the committee to submit a detailed report.
NGT had earlier questioned the prior requirement of environmental clearance (EC) for laying six-lane road around Yadagirigutta Temple. “The proposed project neither falls under National Highway nor State Highway; it is major district road governed by local authority. The requirement of environmental clearance for the formation of six-lane ring road is not under the purview of EIA notification,” the committee opined.
The project authority has submitted that construction of presidential suite and VVIP cottages in an extent of 13 acres with built up area of about 11,193 square metres on Yadagirigutta-Cheriyal Road was in completion stage. YTDA had granted approval for these constructions.
YTDA has submitted a proposal for the construction of township and Yadagirigutta Temple city. “The proposal submitted by YTDA for prior environmental clearance does not include the constructions, which are already taken up by R&B department at Yadagiripally village,” the NGT-appointed committee said.
The joint committee had submitted its report on June 30, 2021, along with recommendations for restoration of Oorakunta. The NGT then asked the committee to submit a detailed report
