Revoke Rushikonda resort CRZ clearance: EAS Sarma to MoEFCC

Noted social activist and former IAS officer EAS Sarma on Wednesday asked the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to revoke Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance accorded to AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) for rebuilding a resort at Rushikonda at a cost of about Rs 200 crore.

In a representation to Leena Nandan, Secretary, MoEFCC, he said while the matter as of now stands before the court, nothing prevents MoEFCC from acting on its own to issue a notice to APTDC and revoke the CRZ clearance in view of the multiple infringements of the CRZ clearance communication. APTDC has already caused irreparable damage to the CRZ area around Rushikonda and any delay on the part of the ministry to act on its own would only compound such damage. MEFCC cannot be a silent spectator to APTDC wantonly causing such damage, in defiance of the conditions precedent to the CRZ clearance letter, he felt.

“If MoEFCC fails to act in this matter, the only inference I can draw is that it has no respect for the letter and the spirit of Article 48A, the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act and the CRZ notification, in which case, the rationale of the existence of the MEFCC would itself become questionable,” he stated.