A Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court led by Chief Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur on October 31 (Tuesday) directed the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) to take an appropriate decision on the constructions undertaken by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) on the Rushikonda hillock in Visakhapatnam by considering the report filed by the expert committee nominated by the HC.
The Chief Justice said that the MoEF&CC should also duly take into account the APTDC’s response to whether the violations, which the government had previously claimed were minor, would warrant cancellation or withdrawal of the clearance granted to it on May 19, 2021, and the initiation of any penal action under the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.
The court further said that the MoEF&CC should make an assessment of the impact of the violations that were mentioned in the report submitted by the expert committee before taking a decision.
