Apex court rejects Andhra Pradesh Government plea

VIJAYAWADA: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the plea of AP government to lift the stay orders issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on construction of Avulapalli, Netiguttapalli and Mudivedu balancing reservoirs in Chittoor district.

However, the apex court issued partial stay order on payment of penalty and directed the State government to pay a penalty of Rs 25 crore to Krishna River Management Board (KRMB). The AP government approached the Supreme Court challenging an order of NGT which set aside environmental clearance to Avulapalli reservoir on May 11. It may be noted that the NGT on May 11 had set aside the environmental clearance given by the State-level Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) for the construction of Avulapalli balancing reservoir. The green tribunal has passed the order on a plea filed by farmers. The NGT had also imposed a penalty of Rs 100 crore on AP government payable to KRMB within a period of three months.