Central expert committee inspects structures constructed atop Rushikonda Hill in Vizag

A five-member expert committee set up by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on December 14 (Thursday) visited the Rushikonda Hill where the Andhra Pradesh government is constructing a building which, in all likelihood, will house the Chief Minister’s camp office.

A five-member expert committee set up by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on December 14 (Thursday) visited the Rushikonda Hill where the Andhra Pradesh government is constructing a building which, in all likelihood, will house the Chief Minister’s camp office.

The MoEFCC will submit the committee’s report to the Andhra Pradesh High Court by January 10, 2024.

In response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) corporator and JSP leader Peethala Murthy Yadav, the High Court sought a report on the issue by an expert committee formed by the MoEFCC.

The committee is said to have reached the Rushikonda Hill at 11.30 a.m. and completed the inspection by the evening. The committee is also learnt to have visited Kapuluppada on the outskirts of the city, as per the sources.

“We hope that the committee members have examined every point raised in the PIL. The State government has violated the Coastal Regulatory Zone rules and the orders of the courts. The government is not following norms and court orders, and taking its own decisions in developing the structure in the name of Chief Minister’s Office,” Mr. Murthy Yadav said in a release to the media.

The five-member committee comprises an expert in damage assessment K. Gowrappan (Chairman of the committee) and members Manik Mahapatra of the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (Chennai), D. Sowmya of the Central Pollution Control Board (Chennai) and Suresh Babu Pasupuleti from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change sub-office in Vijayawada.