Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday, December 15, directed the central government to submit a compliance report on the implementation of all legal and environmental regulations concerning the Navy’s Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) radar station project at Damagundam in Vikarabad district.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparash Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin also instructed the state government to provide details of the compensatory afforestation undertaken to offset forest loss caused by the project. The court adjourned the hearing to January for further review.
PIL filed in 2020
The directives came in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in 2020 by the Damagundam Forest Protection JAC, challenging the state government’s decision to allocate 2,900 acres of forest land for the radar centre.
Amicus curiae and senior advocate Vivek Jain argued that clarity was needed on the expert committee’s report regarding environmental protection measures.
He pointed out that the Centre had remained silent on the stipulation to develop additional forest land equivalent to 1:2% of what was diverted for the project, and that the allocation terms required no disturbance to local flora and fauna.
Centre, state govt’s responses
Appearing for the Centre, its counsel informed the court that a counter-affidavit had already been filed regarding the radar project and that a clarification based on a report from the Naval Commander would be submitted in a sealed cover.
Representing the state government, its counsel stated that a committee had been constituted under biodiversity regulations to monitor the project.
He added that since the previous local body’s tenure had ended, a new committee would soon be formed under the leadership of the newly elected sarpanch.
After hearing the submissions, the bench directed the authorities to file complete reports before the next hearing and postponed further proceedings to January.
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