Hyderabad: The ruling Congress and the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are at loggerheads over the Very Low Frequency (VLF) communication transmission radar station to be set up by the Indian Navy in Vikarabad district.
The state government transferred 1,174 hectares (2901 acres) of forest land in Dummugudem village, near Puduru, Vikarabad district to the Navy to set up the radar station.
An MoU for the centre was signed between officials of the Eastern Naval Command and state government forest officials in the presence of chief minister A Revanth Reddy at the Secretariat on January 25.
The project is set to be ready by 2027.
BRS opposed to the project: KTR
Addressing a BRS meeting in Parigi, Vikarabad on Monday, January 29, former minister K T Rama Rao (KTR) said that the party is opposed to the radar station project.
“We didn’t let the radar station come up in the last 10 years because it would affect wildlife due to radiation. The approval would affect Puduru, Parigi, and the Vikarabad district. As soon as coming to power, the Congress government signed the file in haste,” he said.
He also alleged that 12 lakh trees would be cut to pave the way to the radar station. “Where did all the environmentalists go?….. The Musa and Esa rivers emerge from here. If lakhs of trees are cut, will there be rainfall?” he asked.
He also demanded that a survey should be conducted to understand the opinion of the Vikarabad district populace on the issue.
Congress govt hits back
Rejecting KTR’s claims of environmental distress due to the project, state minister for forests Konda Surekha said that the official G.O. was issued after the government conducted due diligence.
“The previous BRS government has accorded permission for the project. We have just moved the file that was ready for approval,” she remarked.
She also denied that lakhs of trees would be cut for the project.
Surekha cited orders of the state High Court on a petition that alleged the same. “The High Court rejected the claims of tree cutting made in that petition,” she said.
The Damagudem Forest Protection Joint Action Committee had filed a petition in court seeking to cancel this project.
The court gave the nod to the project and asked the state government to take all precautions by the conditions decided by the state government.
