The National Green Tribunal’s Principal Bench, comprising Justice Prakash Shrivastava, Chairperson and Dr A Senthil Vel, Expert Member, has taken suo motu cognizance of a news item on the environmental pollution caused by the Vijayawada Thermal Power Station (VTPS) resulting in staging of protests by residents of Ibrahimpatnam and Kondapalli, two areas near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.
The original application is registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item dated November 4, 2024.
The news item highlights that dust and ash emanating from the plant are causing heart and lung ailments, and ash released by the power plant is polluting the villages in about a 10-km radius and damaging the nearby crops.
The NGT observed that the matter indicates a violation of the provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
The Tribunal has impleaded the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the Central Pollution Control Board, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the District Magistrate, Vijayawada, as respondents in the matter.
The NGT has directed the respondents to file their responses/replies by way of affidavit before the Southern Zonal Bench of the Tribunal at least one week before the next date of hearing.
The Tribunal has transferred the original application to the Southern Zonal Bench, Chennai, for further action and listed the matter for hearing on January 10, 2025.
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