Report status of RLIS by Friday: NGT to KRMB

Hyderabad: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked the Krishna River Management (KRMB) to visit the controversial Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Scheme (RLIS) and submit a report on the status of construction of the project by August 13.

The Tribunal also turned down the KRMB request to postpone the hearing on the contempt petition on RLIS for three weeks and instead asked the Board to appear for hearing on August 16.

The petition on RLIS and the violation of NGT orders to stop the works was pending before the Tribunal. Based on the complaint lodged by Telangana, the NGT instructed the AP Government to stop the construction, and the Board to take necessary measures to protect the interests of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana until the issue is resolved.

The Tribunal said it would not accept the Board's request to adjourn the case for three weeks as the Union Government needed to appoint a committee member in place of Devender Rao whose inclusion was objected by Andhra Pradesh.