NGT refuses to transfer Polavaram case to Supreme Court, says flood victims be rehabilitated in six months

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered the Polavaram flood victims to be rehabilitated and compensated within six months. The NGT on Friday heard two petitions filed by Pentapati Pullaru on rehabilitation and compensation to victims in Andhra Pradesh and Pongleti Sudhakar Reddy on the impact of the floods in Telangana.

The NGT approved the report of the committee set up on the impact of the flood. The NGT rejected the committee's proposal to transfer the case to the Supreme Court. The NGT assured that it would address tbe problems such as the project's impact on the environment, interstate water disputes and compensation of victims.

It directed that a meeting be arranged with Telangana, Odisha and Chhattisgarh over the Polavaram project within two months. It has advised that a meeting be jointly organized by the Central Water Board, Polavaram Project Authority, Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal and the AP Water Resources Department.

The NGT approved the committee's recommendations to address the concerns of the upper states and directed the Telugu states to discuss and take action on the issue of flooding areas on both sides of the Godavari river at Bhadrachalam if Polavaram project construction is completed.