Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Wednesday directed the Centre and state govt to file additional counters in a public interest litigation filed by Damagundum Forest Protection-JAC-Save Damagundam. The petition seeks directions to Telangana to hold back the decision of allotting land to the Eastern Naval Command for setting up the Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) Radar Project. The high court had ordered a stay on the project in 2020, but later modified it in 2021, allowing the project to proceed subject to the final outcome of the current PIL.During the hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin on Wednesday, Vivek Jain, the amicus curiae appointed to assist the court in the matter, informed the court that the counter-affidavit already filed by the central govt fails to address several concerns, including the potential radiation impact from the radar station.Vivek Jain informed the bench about the Supreme Court rulings on the ‘precautionary principle’, which laid down that the “actor or the enterprise (Union govt in this matter) which intends to change the status quo would have to show that the proposed change is environmentally benign and that it would not have any negative impact or injury (on the surroundings)”.While there was limited research on the effects of low-frequency radiation, and even courts have restricted installation of radiating towers like cell phone towers near schools and hospitals, the potential harm remains uncertain, and the Union govt’s counter was not very clear on that part, Jain informed the court.Jain also informed the court that there were concerns about the flora and fauna, especially impact on the biodiversity, and the medicinal plants that purify the environment in the proposed project area. “An expert committee was also constituted to oversee these aspects, but its tenure had not been extended beyond 2021,” he added.Further, an implead petition to the ongoing PIL was also filed before the court seeking compensatory afforestation in lieu of the environmental impact from the project.Recording the submissions, the bench directed the Centre and state govt to file their counters. It also directed the Centre to explain whether the expert committee’s term was extended or not. The matter was adjourned to Nov 13 for further hearing.
