Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding construction activities over the Rushikonda hill, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, 06/05/2022
Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Raghu Ramakrishna Vs State of Andhra Pradesh dated 06/05/2022.
Grievance in the application is against violation of environmental norms in the course of construction work over the Rushikonda Hill near Visakhapatnam, in violation of the Master Plan notified by the Urban Development Department under the AP Urban Development Areas (Development) Act of 1975.
The four member committee appointed in compliance to the NGT order, December 17, 2021 informed the court that the construction is for tourism projects and CRZ clearance has been granted. The project site falls under Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ-II), as per the mapping done by IRS, Anna University.
The NGT, May 6, 2022 said that though the area is said to be falling in CRZ-II as per mapping done by Anna University, "it needs to be verified whether as per CZMP, the category of the site is CRZ II." Further, it is necessary to ascertain from an independent committee whether such a project is viable taking into consideration the eco-sensitiveness aspect and whether the Rushikonda hill would be adversely affected by such a project.
The court, directed the constitution of a joint committee of National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA), AP Coastal Zone Management Authority (APCZMA), National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) with APCZMA being the nodal agency for coordination and compliance. The Committee needs to look into the permissible use as per approved CZMP and environmental viability of the project and whether CRZ clearance needs to be revisited. A report has to be filed by the committee within one month.