Environmental Clearance given to the Kaleshwaram project void

Environmental Clearance given to the Kaleshwaram project void

Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Defence & Security

In news

• Recently, the National Green Tribunal has ruled that the Environmental Clearance given to the Kaleshwaram project in December 2017 was void.
• This was so because the Telangana government subsequently changed the design of the project to increase its capacity.

Key takeaways

• The petition filed in 2018 stated that while the Kaleshwaram Project was a lift irrigation system, the state government had wrongly claimed, until the grant of environmental clearance (EC), that the project was not for lift irrigation, but only for drinking water supply.
• The NGT has now directed that until the Telangana government obtains final forest clearance, it should stop all work except the drinking water component.

Important value additions

• The Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation System is considered to be one of the world’s largest multi-purpose projects.
• It is designed to provide water for irrigation and drinking purposes to districts in Telangana, apart from Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
• The project starts at the confluence point of Pranahita River and Godavari River.