ODISHA ASKED TO FILE SUKTEL STATUS IN TWO WEEKS
Wednesday, 08 July 2015 |
PNS | BALANGIR | in Bhubaneswar
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The National Green
Tribunal (NGT), Kolkata has directed the Water Resources Department to file
status report on the Lower Suktel Project within two weeks’ time. The NGT
issued this directive on Monday while looking into its earlier direction issued
to department and Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) on May 22 seeking
replies in four weeks’ time on a petition challenging validity of the project’s
environment clearance.
On Monday, the Odisha
Government filed a time petition seeking three months adjournment which was
rejected by the NGT. Advocate Sankar Prasad Pani appearing for the petitioners
pointed out that the validity of environment clearance granted for the Lower
Suktel Irrigation Project in 1998 had been lapsed in 2003 because of
non-commencement of construction work within five years of the grant.
The petitioner further
contended that the entire construction work going in the area since 2013 is
illegal and amounts to an offence under the Environment Protection Act 1986.
Around 5,000 hectares of
land, including 637 hectares of forest land, have been acquired for the
project. Around 16 villages fully and 10 villages partly are apprehended to be
submerged affecting 4,160 families.
“The forceful
construction work started in April 2013 in presence of armed police force and
with arresting of leaders of the agitating villagers, who had been opposing the
forceful land acquisition,” Satya Narayan Banchhor, a project-affected person
and secretary of the Lower Suktel Budi Anchal Sangram Parisad, had pointed out
in his petition. On May 22, the NGT had asked State Government and MoEF to file
their reply within 4 weeks as to why the injunction would not be granted in
respect of ongoing construction work of the Lower Suktel Irrigation Project.
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