Environment Ministry notice to Telangana on Dindi lift irrigation project

Tags: State News

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has recently issued a show cause notice to the Telangana government seeking explanation on the execution of the Sri Ramaraju Vidyasagar Rao Dindi lift irrigation project without taking appropriate environmental clearance from the ministry.

•  This was done by the Ministry after the Andhra Pradesh  government lodged a complaint with the National Green Tribunal.
• Dindi is a tributary of River Krishna and the  Dindi lift irrigation project is located in Nalgonda, Telangana. 
• It was aimed to lift 30 tmcft (one thousand million cubic feet) water from the reservoir of Palamuru­ Rangareddy at Vattem to provide drinking water to fluorosis affected villages of Nalgonda, Mahbubnagar, and Khammam areas and to irrigate about 3.40 lakh acres.

Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)

•  Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) was introduced in India in 1976-77 with respect to river development projects.
• Developmental activities like building of dams, power plants, setting up of Industries etc has a negative impact on the environment. To assess the damage done to the environment EIA was introduced.
• On 27 January 1994 the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest ,under the Environment (Protection) act 1986 promulgated an EIA notification making environment clearance mandatory for any projects mentioned in schedule I category A from the ministry. There are around 30 projects which need Environment Clearance form the Union Ministry  after the EIA has been done .
• Andhra Pradesh complained that Telangana government has not sought environment clearance from the Union Ministry of Forest and Environment for river projects under schedule 1 .
•  The projects mentioned in category B are to be cleared by the state government.