The State of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday appeared before the National Green Tribunal’s (NGT) and sought time to respond to the petition filed by Odisha and Chhattisgarh on the Polavaram issue.
The tribunal has granted the required time to Andhra Pradesh, said senior advocate Atulya Jha. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for May 10.
In the day’s round of hearing, Odisha and Chhattisgarh presented their cases citing a 2011 letter from the then Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh which clearly stated that no environment clearance has been granted to the project. Notably, Odisha and Chhattisgarh have been objecting to the project, but that has not stopped the Andhra Pradesh Government from going ahead with work on the project, which has been accorded the status of a national project.