National Green Tribunal
Chandra Sekhar Reddy vs Govt Of Andhra Pradesh Rep By Its ... on 26 June, 2025
Author: Satyagopal Korlapati
Bench: Satyagopal Korlapati
Item No.1:-
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI
Thursday, the 26th day of June 2025.
[Through Physical Hearing (Hybrid Option)]
Original Application No.37 of 2025 (SZ) &
I.A. No.71 of 2025 (SZ)
IN THE MATTER OF
P. Chandra Sekhar Reddy
Member of the Legislative Council,
East Rayalaseema Teacher's Constituency
No.27/2/1801, 3rd Street, Ramji Nagar,
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh - 524 002.
...Applicant (s)
WITH
1. Government of Andhra Pradesh
Rep. by its Secretary,
Municipal Administration and Urban Development,
Andhra Pradesh Secretariat,
Velagapudi, Andhra Pradesh.
2. The Commissioner/
Director of Municipal Corporation
Prime Hill Crest,
Vaddeswaram Village,
Mangalagiri, Andhra Pradesh - 522 502.
3. The Mission Director
Mission of Elimination of Poverty
in Municipal Areas (MEPMA)
NH-16 Service Road, Tadepalli,
Andhra Pradesh - 522 501.
4. The Member Secretary
Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board
Paryavaran Bhavan, APIIC Colony Road,
Gurunanak Colony, Autonagar, Vijayawada,
Andhra Pradesh - 520 007.
5. The District Collector
SPSR Nellore District,
Andhra Pradesh.
6. The Commissioner
Nellore Municipal Corporation,
Dargamitta, Nellore,
Andhra Pradesh.
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7. The Environmental Engineer
Nellore Region
Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board,
Prasanthi Nagar, Podalakur Road,
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh - 524 003.
8. The Superintending Engineer
Water Resources Department,
SSLC & SB Circle,
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
9. The Project Director
Mission for Elimination of Poverty
in Municipal Areas (MEPMA)
Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
...Respondent(s)
For Applicant (s): M/s. A. Suresh Sakthi Murugan,
T. Srinivasulu and V. Narayanan.
For Respondent(s): Mrs. Madhuri Donti Reddy for State of A.P.
M/s. Stanley Hebzon Singh, G. Vignesh &
V. Anantha Krishnan/I.A.
CORAM:
HON'BLE Smt. JUSTICE PUSHPA SATHYANARAYANA, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE Dr. SATYAGOPAL KORLAPATI, EXPERT MEMBER
JUDGEMENT
Delivered by Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member
1. This application is filed raising a grievance that the Smart Street Vending Market, comprising 200 vending shops and developed as a pilot project at Mypadu Road, Nellore, pursuant to G.O. Rt. No.1005 dated 20.12.2024 issued by Respondent No.1, is encroaching upon the bank of the Jaffar Saheb Canal, specifically within CAS Nos. 134, 135, and 140 of Nellore Bit-2, which is classified as canal poramboke land.
2. The applicant is a member of the Legislative Council, East Rayalseema Teacher's Constituency. It is an admitted fact that G.O. Rt. No.1005 dated 20.12.2024 has not been challenged till date. The very scheme is based on the Government of India's Street Vendors (Prohibition of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Page 2 of 6 Vending) Act, 2014. The above proposal was initiated to improve the livelihoods of street vendors and promotion of the self-help group families through the Smart Street Vending Market for marketing their goods to get a sustainable livelihood.
3. The apprehension of the applicant is that the Jaffar Saheb Canal is a critical public resource that supports irrigation, flood management and ecological balance. If the above project is implemented and encroachments are allowed to happen that will reduce the canal's capacity to function effectively. Furthermore, it is alleged that wastewater from the proposed vending shops would be discharged into the canal, leading to significant water pollution in the Jaffar Saheb Canal, which serves as an irrigation source for approximately 43,000 Acres of agricultural land across three crop seasons.
4. The applicant has further alleged that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Study was done before implementation of the said project. It is also stated that there is no prior clearance from the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board and the Water Resources Department.
5. In light of the apprehended environmental and public health hazards that may arise if the proposed project is implemented, the present application has been filed seeking a direction to the official respondents to declare the constructions undertaken within the Jaffar Saheb Canal as illegal, and consequently to demolish and remove the said constructions.
6. Even at the stage of admission, the official respondents had submitted their respective reports.
7. The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has stated that the project being less than 20,000 Sq. Meters, it does not require the EIA Study nor the Environmental Clearance. However, the building construction project of more than 5,000 Sq. Meters but less than 20,000 Sq. Meters built-up area falls under the 'Green' Category as per the CPCB New Classification of Industries/Activities at Sl. No.10.2 of Building Construction Projects vide Circular dated 12.02.2025.
Page 3 of 68. The report further states that the project proponent shall obtain Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) from the APPCB under the provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 if the wastewater generated from the proposed pilot project is not connected to terminal Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). During the joint inspection, the Municipal Authorities informed that the domestic wastewater generated from the proposed pilot project will be connected to Underground Drainage (UGD) and the same will be treated in the existing STP of 55 MLD capacity at Allipuram. Hence, the proposed pilot project does not require CTE and CTO from the APPCB. Further, the solid waste and plastic waste generated from the proposed pilot project shall be segregated at source, collected properly and disposed as per the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 respectively.
9. The APPCB has also stated that the project proponent shall provide fencing all along the Jaffar Saheb Canal bund to avoid throwing solid waste/ plastic waste into the canal in order to prevent water pollution.
10. The Nellore Municipal Corporation, through its Commissioner (Respondent No.6), has filed a report, wherein it is stated that the Nellore has already permitted for implementation of the Pilot Project at Mypadu Road, Nellore and the fact was affirmed by the Committee in its report dated 25.03.2025 on conducting the joint inspection in compliance with the proceedings dated 10.03.2025 of the District Collector, SPSR Nellore.
11. The Commissioner has also stated that the Superintending Engineer, Water Resources Department (WRD), Nellore, has not objected to the implementation of the above-said project, as the retaining wall was already constructed approximately to a length of 1000 Meters with the intent to protect the perennial water flow of the said canal and after that rigid pavement was laid by Nellore Municipal Corporation over a length Page 4 of 6 of 500 Meters with a width of 8.4 to 10 meters in the year 2023- 24 itself.
12. There was a Joint Committee constituted by the District Collector, SPSR Nellore District, comprising members from the Nellore Municipal Corporation, Forest Department, Water Resources Department, APPCB, etc. The Committee had opined that there is no environmental impact on the implementation of the project and that the Superintending Engineer, Irrigation, Nellore has also expressed no objection in the said report for implementation of the said project. It is reiterated that the subject project was taken up with due permissions from all the departments concerned with all precautionary measures to prevent pollution of the subject canal such as providing sewage connections, piped water supply, proper garbage collection from shops, providing dustbins at appropriate place and erecting iron mesh over the retailing wall of the Jaffar Saheb Canal throughout the subject project.
13. If the aforementioned precautionary measures are strictly implemented and adhered to, the applicant would have no objection.
14. On the same lines, the 5th Respondent, who is the District Collector, SPSR Nellore District, has filed a report, stating that the Nellore Municipal Corporation has taken note of the suggestions made by the APPCB, Irrigation Department and proposals are being formulated by the Municipal Corporation Authorities for providing sewage network, arrangement of dustbins for segregated waste collection and also erection of mesh on the retaining wall to avoid the garbage dumping in the subject canal.
15. All the authorities have uniformly stated that the project will not have any impact on the environment. While the apprehensions raised by the applicant are duly appreciated, it is noted that the authorities have already resolved to implement all necessary precautionary measures to address the specific concerns highlighted by the applicant, which have also been duly recorded in their respective reports.
Page 5 of 616. Hence, the official respondents are only directed to strictly follow the precautionary measures, which are already in place and ensure that the same are implemented before the Smart Street Vending Market comes into operation. Not stopping with that, the authorities are also directed to ensure that the irrigation canal, namely Jaffar Saheb Canal, is not polluted at any point either by throwing garbage/waste or by letting any sewage/wastewater into the canal.
17. The proposed shopkeepers have filed an interlocutory application [I.A. No.71 of 2025 (SZ)] to implead themselves in the present Original Application.
18. Mr. Stanly Hebzon Singh, the learned counsel for the interlocutory applicants, has not pressed the application for impleadment. Accordingly, the interlocutory application [I.A. No.71 of 2025 (SZ)] is dismissed as not pressed.
19. In view of the foregoing, the Original Application [O.A. No.37 of 2025 (SZ)] is disposed of.
Sd/-
Smt. Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana, JM Sd/-
Dr. Satyagopal Korlapati, EM O.A. No.37/2025 (SZ) & I.A. No.71/2025 (SZ) 26th June, 2025. Mn.
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