National Green Tribunal
Avilala Cheruvu Parirakshana Samiti vs State Of Andhra Pradesh on 12 January, 2021
Author: K. Ramakrishnan
Bench: K. Ramakrishnan
Item No.6:
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI
Original Application No. 156 of 2020 (SZ)
(Through Video Conference)
IN THE MATTER OF:
Avilala Cheruvu Parirakshana Samiti
Represented by its Convener Akula Satish Kumar
Door No.37, AGK Buildings, Gandhi Road,
Tirupati, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh.
... Applicant(s)
Versus
State of Andhra Pradesh,
Rep. by the Chief Secretary,
Department Building #1,
1st Floor, A.P. Secretariat,
Velagapudi, Amaravathi, Guntur District and Ors.
... Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 12.01.2021.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. RAMAKRISHNAN, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE MR. SAIBAL DASGUPTA, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s): Mr. Sai Sathya Jith.
For Respondent(s): Smt. Madhuri Donti Reddy for R1 to R9.
ORDER
1. As per order dated 20.08.2020, this Tribunal had considered the pleadings and also the decision relied on by the counsel appearing for the applicant in respect of the same issue and this Tribunal had constituted a Joint Committee as per order dated 05.11.2020 and directed the committee to submit a report and posted the case to today for that purpose.
2. When the matter came up for hearing today through Video Conference, Sri. Sai Sathya Jith represented the applicant. Smt. Madhuri Donti Reddy represented respondents 1 to 9. Service complete.
3. We have received a report of the Joint Committee which reads as follows:-
"Brief Background - Avilala Cheruvu The AvilalaCheruvu (hereinafter also referred as Avilala tank) is a water body located at about 1.20 Km Southwest of Avilala Village, Tirupathi Rural Mandal, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. It is spread in survey Nos. 17/4, 18/1, 18/2 and 19 of Avilala village. The Hydraulic particulars of the water body are as follows:
FTL : +508.19'
MWL : +510.69'
TBL : +515.69'
Top Width of bund : 6', 5' and4'
Side slopes : 11/2 to 1 and 2 to 1
Height of revetment above FTL : 21/2ft.
Area of water spread at FTL : 201.60 Acres
Capacity of the tank at FTL : 43.80 mcft.
Ayacut : 279.00 Acres
Length of Bund : 2720 mtrs.
Combined catchment area : 5.38 sq. miles
In the year 1994 Avilala Tank was alienated to Tirupathi Urban Development Authority (TUDA) and Andhra Pradesh, Housing Board vide G.O.Ms.No.84 (Revenue), dated: 28.01.1994. Challenging the said Govt. orders a writ petition No.8650 of 1994 was preferred in Hon'ble High Court, Hyderabad by a registered society called "The Intellectual Form".
Upon dismissal of the said writ petition Special Leave Petition was preferred against the orders the Hon'ble High Court. Subsequently, Civil Appeal no. 1251 of 2006 (Arising out of SLP(Civil) Nos. 7196-7197 of 2001) was decided on 23.02.2006, wherein the Hon'ble Apex court was pleased to dispose the appeal with directions as given below (hereinafter also referred to the orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court).
1) No further construction to be allowed in the area.
2) Each house already constructed by the APHB/TUDA may provide for roof top rain water harvesting. All the storm water in the already built colonies to be recharged to ground water. Structures for such purposes to be designed in consultation with CGWB.
3) No bore well/tube well for any purpose to be allowed in the area.
4) An area of 40 acres presently reserved for the Government should not be developed in any way that may lead to concretization of the ground surface. Recharge structures to be constructed for rain water harvesting.
5) Piezometers to be set up at selected locations in consultation with the CGWB to observe the impact of rain water harvesting in the area ground water regime.
From 2006 to 2015 no activity was taken up in the Avilala tank and it remained as a Tank only.
On 26.12.2015 during a discussions held on the developmental activities of Tirupathi Town, the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD) authorities have shown interest for development and beautification of Avilala Tank as part of keeping Tirupathi town greenery and ecological balance.
The then Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor vide Lr.No.DB/SO.2/W-25, 506 M, dated 26.12.2015 had given permission to TTD for development and beautification of Avilala Cheruvu (tank),duly keeping in view the supreme court orders, by not changing the morphology of the tank (Annexure- I).
The TTD, vide Lr.No. LOC No.2287/D12/CEM/TTD/TPT/2017, dt.30.05.2017 and dt. 21.07.2017 requested the Government of Andhra Pradesh to accord permission for the work of "Development of Avilala tank at Tirupathi" with a cost of Rs.18.50 crores and to include the same in the revised budget of 2017-18. The TTD proposed to develop Spiritual Park, Aesthetic Park, walking park, develop eco-system and percolation tank etc. to improve ground water availability to improve pilgrims' amenities etc. The Government of Andhra Pradesh also accorded permission to TTD to take up the proposed works of development of the above mentioned amenities for pilgrims and public, vide G.O.Rt.No.947, dated 11.09.2017 and included the same in the revised budget of 2017- 18(Annexure-II).
The then Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi vide Letter No. DB/JTO.IV/TPT/ 128 M Dt. 03-03-2018 has intimated the Chief Engineer, T.T.D., Tirupathi about the Hon'ble Supreme court orders, and requested not to take up any construction in the foreshore area of tank and also requested to stop laying of roads in the foreshore area of the tank. (Annexure-III). Further, the then Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi vide Lr.No.603 SE, dated 27.10.2018 has reported to the Superintending Engineer, Irrigation circle, Chittoor that the foreshore area of Avilala tank was excavated by deploying six (6) excavators, eight (8) tippers and about thirty (30) tractors for forming hillock type structures on western side of the tank.
The Joint Executive Officer, Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams, Tirupathi, vide Lr.No.ROC No.2287/D12/CG/TTD/TPT/2017, dt.01.08.2018, has stated that as per the orders of Govt., in G.O.Rt.No. 947 dt. 11-09-2017, the Andhra Pradesh Urban Greenery and Beautification Corporation Ltd.(APUG & BCL) has entered into an MOU with the TTD and have furnished the proposals for development of Avilala Ecological Park with an estimated cost of Rs.181.13 crores in two phases i.e. Phase-1 for 80.14 crores and Phase-II for Rs100.99 crores. Further, as per the minutes communicated by the Managing Director, APUG & BCL, the Chief Minister, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh has conducted a review meeting on 04.07.2018 and gave his consent to proceed with the works as proposed in Phase-1 above. Accordingly, the Government has accorded permission to take up the development of Avilala Tank at Tirupathi with a revised project cost of Rs.80.14 crores under Phase-1, vide G.O.Rt.No.1775, dated13.12.2018, duly stipulating compliance to the orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court.(Annexure-IV).
As the matter stood thus, the petitioners, Sri Akula Sathish Kumar and Sri B. Mohan Krishna, Tirupathi jointly submitted their representation vide letter dated 22.7.2019 to the following authorities.
(i) The Chief Secretary to Govt., A.P. Secretariat, Vijayawada
(ii) The Executive Officer, TTD, Tirupathi
(iii) The District Collector, Chittoor
(iv) Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle,Chittoor In their representation the petitioners have stated that the developmental works are being taken up by the TTD in Avilala Cheruvu, i.e., construction works of Sri Venkateswara Spiritual theme park, by flouting the orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court and requested the authorities to ensure that the activities are in conformity with the above orders of Hon'ble Supreme court of India, otherwise, they cautioned that, they will have no alternative except to file an application before the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal against the authorities.
The Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor vide Lr.No.SE/IC/CTR/DB/T4/ATO/W.25/739 M, dated 07.08.2019 requested the TTD authorities not to take up any permanent structure in the Avilala Tank and restore the tank to its original morphology. Violation of the condition/ changing the morphology of the tank leads to legal complications to be faced by all the concerned departments (Annexure-V). The Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor also addressed the District Collector, Chittoor, with a request to address the TTD authorities not to take up any permanent structure in the foreshore of the tank by changing the morphology of the tank and instructed the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi to submit a detailed status report.
The then Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi along with Deputy Executive Engineer, Irrigation Sub-Division, Tirupathi and Assistant Engineer, Tirupathi Rural have inspected the Avilala tank on 04.09.2019 and found that the following structures were constructed by the TTD in Avilala Tank.
1) Compound wall: 90% of compound wall, all along the tank, was completed by demolishing the tank bund.
2) WMM Road: Metal layers were laid without blacktopping.
3) CM&CD works: Two culverts with pipes were constructed.
4) Shed: 5 Nos of iron pillars with trusses without roof covering are erected.
5) Buildings: Columns up to plinth level was constructed.
6) Earthen mounds and bund: Earthen mounds and bund are formed in the foreshore area.
7) Temporary shed: one temporary shed was constructed.
The TTD authorities had changed the morphology of the tank in violation of the conditions stipulated by the Irrigation department while permitting the development works as mentioned above. The same was intimated to the Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor vide Lr.No.DB/JTO.IV/Avilala/513 SE, Dt.18.09.2019.
The Executive Engineer has further submitted that the southern side of Avilala tank is being used by the M/s AFCON Company for fabrication and storage of materials required for construction of Garuda Varadhi fly over in Tirupathi city, a project taken up by TUDA, Tirupathi. On enquiry, the M/s AFCON have furnished records of permission accorded to them vide the proceedings of the Vice Chairman, TUDA, Tirupathi, which in turn have given reference of the GO Ms.No. 408, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (UBS) Department Dt. 18-12-2018, in pursuance of which the said proceedings were issued. The above GOMs. No.408 reads as under:
"The land falling in alignment and belonging to TTD/TUDA/MCT/APSRTC and any other Government properties shall be handed over to TSCCL for project execution".
In accordance with the above Govt. Orders, the TUDA has permitted M/s AFCON to utilize the land in Sy.No. 19 of Avilala village on a nominal rent of Rs. 2.00 Lakh (Rupees two lakhs only) per month for setting up of casting yard of Garuda Varadhi project with a condition to the effect that they should vacate the land after Garuda Varadhi project work is over or as and when this authority requires the land whichever is earlier. Further, the agency should adhere to the following conditions.
The company is permitted to utilize the land purely for casting/storage of materials relating to the Garuda Varadhi project and should not cause any damages or obstruct natural watercourse.
They should not raise any permanent constructions. They should not change any physical features of the land.
The then Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi has requested the Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor to address the TUDA authority seeking the grounds based on which it issued the above proceedings, permitting M/s AFCON to utilize the Avilala tank bed for the purpose of casting yard.
The Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Division, Chittoor vide Lr.No.SE/IC/CTR/DB/T4/ATO/W.25/921 M, dated 09.10.2019 (Annexure- VI) has once again requested the TTD authorities not to take up any permanent structures in the foreshore area of the Avilala tank and regain the tank to its original morphology as per the aforementioned orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court..The Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor submitted the copy to the District Collector, Chittoor with a request to address the TTD authorities not to take up any permanent structures in the tank thereby changing the morphology of the tank. The Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor also instructed the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi to address the TUDA, Tirupathi regarding allotment of land to M/s AFCON company for setting up the casting yard for Garuda Varadhi Project and evict the encroachment by the company immediately with the support of revenue authorities.
On 24.06.2020, Avilala Cheruvu Parirakshana Samiti represented by its convener Sri.Akula Satish Kumar, Tirupathi and Swarnamukhi Bachavo Andolan Samiti represented by its president Sri.B. Mohan Krishna have approached the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal, (SZ), at Chennai and filed an application No.156 of 2020 (SZ),challenging the permission given by Irrigation Department for taking up development and beautification works in the Avilala Cheruvu and requested the Hon'ble Tribunal to inter alia direct the concerned authorities to refrain from taking up any development works in the catchment area of the Avilala Cheruvu and restore the water body to its original position, without reducing the capacity of the tank, besides awarding cost to the respondents.
The Executive Engineer, Irrigation division, Tirupathi vide Lr. No. DB/JTO-4/ Encroachments/ 603 M dt. 31-08-2020, has requested the Vice Chairman, TUDA, Tirupathi for cancellation of permission given to the M/s AFCONS Company by the TUDA authorities for utilizing the part of Avilala tank bed. The Executive Engineer, Irrigation division, Tirupathi vide, Lr.No. DB/JTO-4/ Encroachments/ 604 M Dt. 31-08- 2020, has also requested the Executive Officer, T.T.D, Tirupathi for regaining the morphology of Avilala tank and restoring the bunds of the Avilala tank to comply with the said orders of Hon'ble Supreme court.
On 23.09.2020, the Executive Engineer, Irrigation Division, Tirupathi Sri.J.Venkata Siva Reddy, S/o.J.Reddeppa Reddy has submitted counter affidavit to the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal, Chennai.
Joint Committee - O.A. No. 156 of 2020 dated 05.11.2020 The Hon'ble NGT, Chennai in its order dated 05.11.2020, considering the prevailing circumstances and submissions made by both the parties and also considering the allegations made, appointed a Joint Committee comprising of the following members, to inspect and ascertain the present status of the area i.e. the Avilala Tank.
1. Senior Officer from Ministry of Environmental, Forests and Climate change, Integrated Regional Office (IRO), Chennai.
2. The District Collector, Chittoor District.
3. Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Department.
4. An officer from the office of the principal Chief Conservator of Forests & Head of ForestForce(HOFF)notbelowtherankofChiefConservatorofForeststobedep ute d by the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest & Head of Forest Force (HOFF).
The committee was directed to ascertain the extent of water body as per the revenue records, the present extent available, number and nature of encroachment and what is the proposed action to be taken to restore the water body to its original position in tune with the directions given by the Hon'ble Apex Court and any damage has been caused to environment, what is the nature of damage caused and assess environmental compensation and submit a factual as well as action taken report to the Tribunal on or before 12.01.2021.
As per the above directions of the Hon'ble NGT, Chennai, a Joint Committee was formed duly comprising of the following officers:
1. Dr. C. Palpandi, Scientist-C from Ministry of Environmental, Forests and climate change will act as a Nodal Officer(EP/12.7/NGT(SZ)/070/2020/AP dated 01.12.2020)
2. Dr. N. Bharat Gupta, IAS, The District Collector, Chittoor
3. Sri. M. Surendra Reddy, Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Circle, Chittoor.
4. Sri. R.K. Suman, IFS, Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Guntur.(PCCF &HoFFRc. No. 7864/2020/Admn.1/20/11/2020) The exhaustive mandate of the committee is as under:
1. To ascertain the extent of water body as per the revenue records,
2. To ascertain present extent of the Avilala Tank available,
3. To ascertain the number and nature of encroachments
4. To propose the action to be taken to restore the water body to its original position in tune with the directions given by the Hon'ble Apex Court.
5. To ascertain the extent of damage, if any, caused to the environment,
6. To ascertain the nature of damage caused to the environment.
7. To assess environmental compensation and
8. To submit a factual as well as action taken report to the Tribunal
9. To submit the report on or before 12.01.2021.
The Joint Committee has inspected the Avilala tank on 18.12.2020 along with the designated representatives of various stake holder departments/agencies such as Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams, Tirupathi, Tirupathi Urban Development Authority, Tirupathi, Revenue Department, Tirupathi, M/s AFCON representatives etc. With reference to the mandate given by Hon'ble National Green Tribunal, the Joint Committee submits the following for favour of information and kind consideration of the Hon'ble Tribunal.
1. The extent of the water body as per the revenue records:
As per the Resurvey and Resettlement register of 49, Avilala village in the Chandragiri Taluka of Chittoor District, the extent of the Avilala tank is as follows.
Sy. No. Extent
(Acres)
Tank 18/1
187.0318
/2 0.19
17/4 0.53
Total 187.75
Cheruvu Thottu
(Area reserved for
excavation of earth to meet
the requirement of bund in
emergency conditions)
19 13.87
Total 13.87
GrandTotal : 201.62
Thus total extent of water body of the Avilala Tank as per revenue records is 201.62 Acres.
2. Pre se n t ex tent a v a i l a b l e :
The areasutilized for various purposes are as under:
Part Description of Extent Status Remarks
Land ( Acres)
Part-I Available tank bed 144.48 Available --
area on Northern side of
NH 205
Part-II Available tank bed 21.19 Available --
area on Southern side
ofNH-205
Part-III Available tank bed area 0.53 Available Available after
land in Sy. No. 17/4 on Hon'ble
Western side the tank. Supreme
Court of India
Judgment.
Part-IV Cheruvu Thottu on the 13.87 Available Available after
south side of the NH 205 Hon'ble Supreme
which is being used by Court of India
M/s Judgment.
AFCON for sand
dumping yard.
Total ( available) 180.07
Part-III Tank bed area given for 1.12 Not Available Vide G.O.Ms.No. 84
sub-station Dt. 28-01-
(permanent structure) 1994
Part-IV Tank bed area given for 10.20 Not Available As per
NH 205 discrete
(Permanent enquiry it is
structure) found that it is
formed prior
20 06
(Supreme
court
judgment)
Part-V Metal road is passing on 9.90 Not Available Permission
western side of was not given by
foreshore of tank the
from NH 205 to Government for
Vaikuthapuramof this road.
Tirupathi town On discrete
(Permanent structure) enquiry it is
found that it was
formed after supreme
court
Judgment.
Part-VI Land given for road 0.33 Not Available Permission
from Tirupathi to was not given by
Pachikapallam the
(Permanent Structure) Government for
this road.
On discrete
enquiry it is
found that it was
formed after supreme
court
Judgment.
Total (Not Available) 21.55
Grand Available + not available 201.62
Total
The total extent of the erstwhile tank is 201.62 acres, consisting of tank bed of 187.75 acres and Cheruvu Thottu (Area reserved for excavation of earth to meet the requirement of bund in emergency conditions) of 13.87 acres. Out of this tank bed area, an extent of 10.20 acres of land was given for formation of NH 205 road (National Highway) which is running east-west and is passing through the foreshore/tank bed area of Avilala tank there by dividing the tank into two parts in north and south of it, which are both interconnected by an RCC Bridge. Further, on the northern side of the NH 205, an area of acres of land was allotted for sub-station vide a Govt. order which predates the Instant orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court. Besides, an area of 9.90 acres of tank bed was utilized for construction of a metal road from NH 205 to Vaikuthapuram of Tirupathi town passing through the western side of foreshore of tank. This metallic road was constructed without any supporting Govt. Order. Further, another area of 0.33 acres of land was also utilized as part of road from Tirupathi to Pachikapallem. As regards the tank bed area of the southern side of the NH 205, out of an available area of 21.19 acre, about 18 acres of land is being used temporarily by M/s AFCON for fabrication of concrete structures for Garuda Varadhi flyover Project as per proceedings of TUDA, as stated earlier in the report. The M/s AFCON will vacate the land and remove all its temporary structures soon after completion of their project, which is to be over by the end of the year 2021. Thus different parts of the Avilala tank at present are as under:
I. Total extent of land given for various purposes : 21.55 acres.
II. a) Total extent of the tank bed area available : 165.67acres.
b) Cheruvu Thottu area : 13.87 acres
c) Land available : 0.53 acres
d) Total extent available : 180.07 acres III. Total extent of Avilala Tank area (180.07+21.55) : 201.62 acres Thus total extent of the tank Avilala Cheruvu clearly available at present is 180.07 acres including Cheruvu Thottu and land allotted for various purposes is 21.55 acres.
3. Num ber and Nature of t he e n c r o a c hm e n t s :
There are no encroachments either in the form of buildings or in the form of land other than the ones mentioned above in point No. 2 "Present Extent Available". However TTD,in coordination with TUDA has planned certain developmental and beautification works in the Avilala Cheruvu tank bed area. A copy of the plan was presented before the committee by TUDA representatives during the inspection. A copy of the sketch plan is enclosed herewith for ready reference (Annexure-VII).
The proposed works for developments as per the above plan are as under:
A. On Northern side of NH 205:
S. No. Name of the Extent/area (Acres) Purpose
segment
1 Formation of Mounds 27.97 For planting of all the
indigenous species of
Seshachalam forest
2 Formation of walkway/ 10.64 For movement of vehicles
carriage
way, pathway, cycle way
3 Sheds (5 no.) 0.10 For amenities
4 Internal pathways 10.60 For movement of vehicles.
5 Formation of Lake 10.82 Acts as a major water body in the
proposed Ecological Park
6 Formation of Internal swale 5.27 Acts as secondary water body.
It stores excess water from the garden
area.
7 Formation of 1.17 Ac To maintain water constantly round the
ponds year for percolation.
8 Development of different 65.00 For enhancing urban environment,
types of theme gardens promoting eco- tourism,
9 Untackled area 12.91 Proposed for future
development
10. In Sy. No. 17/4 0.53 Proposed for future
development
Total Area 145.01
B. On Southern side of NH 205:
S.No. Name of segment Extent/area(A cres) Purpose
1. M/s AFCON 18 Casting yard
casting yard
2. M/s AFCON's 3.19 Sand dumping/storage
sand dumping
area
3. Cheruvu Thottu 13.87 Untackled area
Total 35.06
C. Encroachments in Tank:
S.No. Name of the Extent/area (Acres) Purpose
segment
1 Sub station 1.12 Construction of Substation
2 Land for NH-205 10.20 Formation of National Highway 205.
3 Metal Road 9.90 Road is formed on western side of
foreshore of tank from NH 205 to
Vaikuntapuram of Tirupathi town.
4 Land for road from 0.33 Formation of road to
Tirupathi to Pachikapallam
Pachikapallam
Total Area 21.55
Grand Total Area of Tank [A(145.01) + B(35.06) +C(21.55)] = 201.62 Acres Further, as per the above plan the following developmental activities were observed to have been taken up in the tank bedarea.
a) A compound wall for a length of about 3. 00 Kms. was constructed all along the periphery of the tank bed by removing the bund of tank.(Fig.1).
b) Whereas on two sides i.e., North and East, the compound wall is constructed, along the boundary of the tank, on southern side the compound wall is constructed on Northern side of the existing NH 205road which is not on the periphery of the tank. On western side, the compound wall is constructed within the foreshore area of the tank. A road for a length of about 800 Mts. and with a width of about 5.00 Mts.
was laid on western side of tank from NH 205 to Vaikuntapuram of Tirupathi town.
c) As regards the tank bed area on SouthernsideoftheNH205thereisno fencing/boundary wall.
d) The tank bed area of about 18.00Ac,located on the southern side of NH 205,is being used as casting yard for fabrication of concrete beams, girders etc., by M/s AFCONS Company for use in Garuda Varadhi fly over project (Fig.2).
e) There is a sand dumping yard on the south west corner of the tank bed area.
f) Formation of internal roads/pathways with metal layers, overlaid with a gravel top layer has been done within the tank bed area. These pathways are about 7.50 Mts., 6 Mts. and 3 Mts. wide in different stretches, covering a total area of about 10.60 Acre of tank bed. (Fig.3).
g) 26 nos. of pipe culverts are constructed across the above internal roads/path ways(Fig.4).
h) An area of about5.00 acres on the southern portion of the tank bed adjacent to the northern side of the NH 205 has been levelled and a spacious vehicle parking space for about 1000 nos. of vehicles has been created/developed.(Fig.5).
i) Peripheral road of width about 6.0 Mts around the tank bed area of about 2.80 Km length has been completed. The said road lies within the tank bed area.
j) Seven mounds/hillsof varying heights ranging from 4.00 Mts. to 5 .00 Mts.have been formed on south - western and western part of the tank bed to represent the seven hills of Sheshachalam hill ranges. The total area of the mounds/hills is about 28.00 Ac. The mounds/hills were formed by excavating the earth from the bed of the tank. Water has impounded at certain places in the excavated portions of the bed. (Fig.6).
k) Five (5)steel framed structures are erected on concrete blocks for creating basic amenities for facilitating the future visitors of the proposed theme park. Each structure is about 100 to 200 Sq.Mts plinth area. The proposed amenities include cafeteria, shelters from sun and rains, toilets etc.(Fig.7).
l) Protective barbed wire fencing over the compound wall is provided.
Thus it was observed that the following types and extent of encroachments and damages have been done to the erstwhile Avilala Cheruvu tank:
S. No. Structure Extent Prior to SC Type Agency/depart Remarks name (Acres) order (permanent ment responsible (Yes/No) / semi-
permanent/ temporary)
1. Sub station 1.12 Yes Permanent AP state Electricity Board
2. NH-205 10.20 Yes Permanent National Highways Authority of India.
3. Metal Road on 9.90 No Semi- TTD/TUDA western side of permanent foreshore tank from NH-205 to Vekuntapura m
4. Land for 0.33 No Semi- TTD/TUDA road from permanent Tirupathi to pachikapalla m
5. Formation of 27.97 No Temporary TTD/TUDA mounds/hills
6. Formation of 10.64 No Temporary TTD/TUDA walkway/ carriage way, pathway, cycle way
7. Foundation 0.10 No Temporary TTD/TUDA for sheds (5 no.)
8. Internal 10.60 No Temporary TTD/TUDA pathways
9. Vehicle 5.00 No Temporary TTD/TUDA Parking area
10. Structure 18.00 No Temporary TTD/TUDA/AFC casting yard ON
11. Sand 13.87 No Temporary TTD/TUDA/AFC dumping ON Yard
12. Boundary wall 3.0 Km No Permanent TTD/TUDA Protects the around the tank tank area from any land grabbing.
Abstract of encroachment/damages to the tank % age Remarks
1. Encroachm 21.55 10.69 --
ents of tank by permanent/s emi-
permanent structure
2. Other 86.18 42.74 --
Damages by temporary structures
3. Total of 107.73 53.43 More than half the erstwhile tank area has been encroachme subjected to some kind of encroachment or damages nts & by way of taking up some developmental works or the damages by other.
way of
developmen
tal works.
4. Tank area 93.89 46.56 --
without any
damage/
encroachme
Nt
Total Tank 201.62 100.00
Area acres.
Thus it is observed that an extent of 21.55 acres of tank bed area has been encroached by permanent and semi-permanent structures such as roads and highways. In the balance area some development works have been taken up by way of certain temporary structures, which can be removed for regaining the water body of the tank. Further, balance part of about 46 % of the tank is left untouched having water impounded at certain places.
Thus a total area of 180.07 acres out of the total area of 201.62 acres of the erstwhile tank can be readily worked upon to restore it as a water body. For the balance area certain remedial measures are being suggested in conformity with the ecology of the area besides awarding suitable costs to the departments/agencies.
4. Proposed action to be taken to restore the water body to its Original Position.
It is observed that though the Avilala Tank was traditionally a designated tank with defined hydrological parameters, the proposals consequent to the abovementioned discussion on taking up development and beautification work of the Avilala tank, were not specifically intended to maintain it as a water body, by way of strengthening the tank bed and desilting & deepening of the tank bed and other related activities. It is amply clear that the proposed work of development and beautification of the erstwhile Avilala tank, which was subjected to siltation in the past, was never intended to restore the tank to its original glory. Instead it was proposed to be developed as a city park area with variety of landscapes and public amenities within the tank bed area viz. earthen mounds, arterial/internal roads, peripheral roads, plantations, vehicle parking, cafe etc. A small area of about 12.00Acres only was proposed to be retained as a water body. Thus instead of developing and restoring it as a water tank to its original position, the development of the area took a different turn towards development of a green city park from echo-tourism point of view. It is pertinent to mention that the permission granted to TTD was accompanied with a pre- condition to scrupulously follow the orders of Hon'ble Supreme court and not to alter the morphology of the tank. This essentially implies taking up works of greening and beautification on the tank bunds and around the tank only and not ensuring sufficient water impounding within the tank bed area, even if it has dried up and silted over the years. By no stretch of imagination it can imply permitting creation of earthen mounds/hillocks, internal roads, culverts, peripheral roads, vehicle parking area, public conveniences, transformer, pedestals, pre-stressed concrete structure fabrication yard, plantations and greening, spiritual park, walking park, etc. within the tank bed, which if allowed would not only lead to gross tampering with the morphology of the tank it would amount to killing the very tank itself as a water body, which in turn goes against the very spirit of the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme court.
It is pertinent to mention here that TUDA had earlier taken up the work of development and beautification of Tiruchannur tank, where in the components of works included strengthening of tank bund, desilting of tank bed, landscaping of tank bunds and plantation on the tank bund. However, the components of works proposed in the same name of "development and beautification" of Avilala tank was at stark variance with the ones proposed for Tiruchannur tank. Thus the development and beautification of Avilala Cheruvu (Tank) was construed as developing it as an urban park for the growing township with all amenities, which the petitioners have all along been objecting to in courts of law.
In view of the above and keeping in view the orders of Hon'ble Supreme Court in this regard and also for maintaining the water body with adequate water storage in the low rainfall water scarce area like Tirupathi, restoration of Avilala tank is essential. Since a part of the Avilala tank has already lost to certain permanent structures, at least the remaining area of 180.07 acres of tank area may be restored as a water body.
Restoration of Avilala Tank to its original position consists of the key components of works as follows.
1. Stopping of any further development works in any portion of the 201 acres of area of the erstwhile Avilala tank immediately.
2. Restoration and formation of earthen bunds to its original position.
3. Removal of all the structures from the tank bed area, except the Sub- station and NH- 205, which were constructed prior to the orders of the Hon'ble Supreme Court.
4. Restoration of inflow channels to their original position.
5. Restoration of surplus course channels to drain the designed discharge.
6. Deepening/desilting of the entire tank bed area to restore the full bed area and to regain the full storage capacity of the tank.
7. Construction of surplus weir to discharge flood water.
The Hon'ble NGT may direct The Government of Andhra Pradesh to get a detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared though an independent agency viz. Water and Power Consulting Services (India) Ltd.(WAPCOS), CWC or any other independent agency and submit the same to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for approval. Further Govt. of Andhra Pradesh may be directed to examine the DPR and accord its approval and budgetary support for implementation by the Irrigation Department, Govt. of AP. A time frame of a maximum of twelve months may be fixed for the Government for approval of the DPR. Further the entire work of restoration of tank as a water body may be completed within a period of three years. All this has to be done under the close monitoring of the Hon'ble National Green Tribunal. Further, since the development of the Avilala tank was given a wrong direction against the orders of the Hon'ble Court, primarily by TTD and TUDA, the Govt. may be at liberty to fund the entire project or may secure part or whole of the funding from TTD and TUDA.
5. Extent of damage caused to the Environment, assessing the compensation and action to be taken thereon.
Due to the lack of proper guidelines, the Joint committee was not able to ascertain the exact magnitude of damage caused to the Environment. However, the committee observed that out of an area of 201.62 acres of the tank, an area of 21.55 Acres (10.69%) have been lost to permanent/semi-permanent structures and hence not available for restoration as water holding area. Thus whereas an area of 180.07 will be proposed the aforesaid DPR, the lost area of 21.55 acres cannot be retrieved. Hence, the committee is of the opinion that a proportion amount of 10.69% (21.55/201.62*100) of the DPR cost may be imposed as environmental compensation to be charged from the TTD and TUDA. This amount may be deposited with the Hon'ble NGT which may be at liberty to use it suitably for furthering the cause of environment. This environmental compensation shall be an in addition to the work of restoration of the Avilala tank that shall be funded as per DPR.
6. Factual as well as Action Taken Report by the Joint Committee In the opinion of the Joint Committee it is clearly given in the SLP 7196 - 7197 in appeal(Civil) No.1251 of 2006 that no further construction is allowed in the Avilala tank. But as per observations of the committee on 18.12.2020 there are gross violations of the Judgment of Hon'ble Supreme Court by the TTD/TUDA, who have taken up construction of various items as mentioned in point no. (3)above ("Number and nature of encroachments"). There was no record to show that TTD/TUDA had the prior approval of the Hon'ble Apex court for taking u pthe aforementioned constructions. The permission given by th eIrrigation Department to TTD is only for beautification of the tank bund without affecting the morphology of the tank. All the constructions made in the tank bed area affect the morphology of the tank. The compound wall constructed all along the three sides of the tank will restrain the people from encroaching and occupying the tank bed area. But the works which were taken up in the tank bed viz. construction of Earthen mounds, Iron pillars, formation of roads, culverts etc., have affected the morphology of the tank against the pre-condition imposed by the irrigation department in view of the orders of Hon'ble Supreme court.
The joint committee further opines that the NH-205 may be reconstructed by raising the national highway road on concrete pillars and by removing the existing road, such that the bifurcated tank area is unified and restored as one water body with restoration of 10.20 acres of area, presently encroached by the national highway. Hence, it is proposed to issue directions to NHAI to construct elevated flyovers to cross the Avilala tank. Govt. of Andhra Pradesh/TTD/TUDA may also be instructed to restore the tank to its original position by removing all tank bed constructions except the sub-station(1.12 acres),9.90 acres of Vaikuntapuram road, 10.20 acres of NH-205 and 0.33 acres of Pachikapallm road, totaling 21.55 acres and the compound wall should be retained.
The Joint Committee constituted by the Hon'ble NGT, Chennai finally recommends for restoration of all the components of the erstwhile Avilala tank to its original morphology and to its original storage capacity in a total area of180.07acres."
174. We have also received a dissenting note submitted by the District Collector, Chittoor which was sent along with the report by e-mail dated 11.01.2021 which reads as follows:-
"I Sri. N. Bharath Gupta, District Collector, Chittoor and Member in the Joint committee formed by the Honourable NGT, on aavilal tank do here by submit that I differ from the opinion of the other members of the committee on the following items and suggest the modification as listed below.
It is essential to include in the scope of the agency going to be appointed (such as WAPCOS or CWC) to prepare the DPR for restoration of the avvilala tank.
A. To examine the possibility of including the theme of formation of biological theme park while restoring the avilala tank. B. It is essential to examine the scope of retaining the NH 205 road (with minor modifications) while preparing the DPR for restoration of the tank. It is to be noted that NH 205 is one of the crucial connectivity links in states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Replacement of the existing embankment formation of the road by a flyover should be the last choice while preparing the DPR. This road is formed prior to the Honourable Supreme Court Judgment on this tank. C. It is advisable to recommend for designing the DPR in such a way, to retain most of the features existing on the area and then provide way for restoration of the water pondage in the Avilala tank. D. I submit that various departments that have worked on this project with a view of beautification and to the glory of the temple city considering the fact that the tank had already abandoned and it was not getting sufficient inflows for the last several decades. E. It is essential to examine by a committee well versed in the issues of hydrology, irrigation as to whether there is any scope to get adequate water inflow into the tank in full capacity before undertaking any restoration of the tank keeping in view of the modified inhabitation patterns in the catchment area."
5. The learned counsel appearing for the respondents submitted that after the Hon'ble Supreme Court directions, they have not made any permanent construction in that area and they have no intention to proceed with any 18 permanent construction as well and all steps will be taken to remove the temporary construction made and they will also come with a proper response from the Government of Andhra Pradesh and also from the Tirupati Urban Development Authority, Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam and Tirupati Smart City Project Officer regarding their response and also proposed action plan, if any, for implementation of the directions issued by the committee in this regard and if they are not agreeing with the observation of the committee, they may also come with a statement in the form of objection and both can be considered by this Tribunal to pass appropriate orders in this case.
6. Considering the circumstances, it is always better to get independent responses from the respondents regarding the allegations made and also their views on the report submitted by the committee so as to enable this Tribunal to evaluate the issue and to pass appropriate orders in accordance with law.
7. However, the encroachment into the water body should not be encouraged even if it is non-perennial in nature, it will have a greater importance to protect such water bodies as it will become a perennial and water storing resources during monsoon and play a greater role to avoid flood being happening in these areas.
198. So considering the circumstances, we feel that an opportunity can be given to the party respondents to file their independent responses and also objections, if any, to the committee report so that those things can be considered by the Tribunal elaborately.
9. They are directed to submit their respective responses and also action plan, if any, by the Government and Development Authority to protect the water body on the basis of the observations made by the committee and submit these things to this Tribunal on or before 23.02.2021 by e-
filing in the form of Searchable PDF/OCR Supportable PDF and not in the form of Image PDF along with necessary hardcopies to be produced as per Rules.
10.The committee is also directed to produce the DPR which they have prepared for enabling this Tribunal to consider for protecting the water body on or before 02.02.2021 by serving copy of the same to the State Government lawyer in advance so that they can come with their views on the same before the next hearing date.
11.The Registry is directed to communicate this order to members of the committee and also to the official respondents by e-mail immediately so as to enable them to comply with the direction.
2012.For completion of pleadings, objections, if any, to the committee report and also for consideration of report, post on 23.02.2021.
......................................J.M. (Justice K. Ramakrishnan) .................................E.M. (Shri. Saibal Dasgupta) O.A. No.156/2020, 12th January, 2021. Mn.
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