Activist urges AP govt to follow NGT’s environmental norms for Amaravati

Visakhapatnam: Noted social activist and former bureaucrat EAS Sarma has asked Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad to ensure that the State government complies with the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT) in its judgement pronounced on November 17, 2017 in OA No. 171/2015.

Sarma, who is a petitioner in the case, stated in a letter to the CS that “I find that, till date, the concerned authorities of the State government have not cared to take up a comprehensive study of the hydrogeomorphology of the Amaravati Master Plan area for formulating measures to conserve the environment and the water resources.”

He stated that they have not set up Supervisory and Implementation Committees with independent experts to monitor implementation of and compliance with the requirements.

They have also failed to ensure requisite regulatory and supervisory control over the performance of the project proponent in the interest of environment and ecology.

The activist said, “I would caution the State government that it should respect the directions of the NGT and comply with the norms stipulated in the judgement. I understand from statements reported to have been made by senior public functionaries of the State government that it is hopeful of securing financing soon from multilateral financial institutions on the basis of discussions held recently with their teams and proceeding with construction works as part of the Amaravati project.”

He stated that the charter of those multilateral financial institutions accord importance to environmental risks associated with the Amaravati project and they would be bound by the judgement of the NGT. “In my view, the State authorities are under an obligation to apprise those institutions of the requirements stipulated by the NGT and the extent to which those requirements have been fulfilled, failing which it would amount to the concerned authorities keeping those institutions in the dark,” he opined.