Andhra Pradesh Capital Amaravati: NGT declines to set aside environment clearance, puts stringent conditions

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has allowed construction activities in Andhra Pradesh’s new Capital Amaravati with certain restrictions. In a huge relief NGTdeclined to set aside environment clearance given to the new Andhra capital Amaravati. "We do not want to interfere", the Bench said why reading small operative part of the verdict. But some stringent conditions have been put in place. These include protection of the river channel, river morphology, and floodplains of Krishna and its strengthening. Hills and hillocks around the floodplains have been protected. The state should carry out extensive studies on river morphology, the judgment says. 

The tribunal has stressed that the work cannot alter the micro-ecology, embankments or courses of rivers in areas proposed to develop the city.

NGT has constituted one supervisory committee and one implementation committee to suggest or add more conditions for environmental protection. This committee will not include the member of the project proponent or those who were involved in the preparation of the Environment Impact Assessment report. 

The case was filed by Journalist and social activist Pandalaneni Srimannarayana in 2015. He has objected to multi-crop fields and flood plains being cleared to build Amaravati. A group of farmers had also approached the tribunal. former bureaucrat EAS Sharma had challenged the clearances granted by the state-level authority. 

The Amaravati capital city will require 19,256.8 hectares of forest land in Krishna and Guntur districts of Andhra Pradesh.