VISAKHAPATNAM: The Andhra Pradesh Adivasi Joint Action Committee (JAC) has opposed the State government’s decision to divert 128.61 hectares of forest land for the proposed 1,350 MW Upper Sileru Pumped Storage Project in Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district, demanding that the order be withdrawn.
In a statement issued on Sunday, AP Adivasi JAC district chairman Rama Rao Dora criticised the Government Order (G.O.) issued by the Environment and Forests Department on July 24, permitting the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO) to divert forest land in the Chintapalli Division for the project proposed between the existing Guntawada and Donkarayi reservoirs.
The State government’s approval follows the final forest clearance granted earlier this month by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Although the Centre reduced the proposed forest diversion from 193.01 hectares to 128.61 hectares, it imposed several conditions, including compensatory afforestation over 291.84 hectares of land. Of this, 163.84 hectares identified for plantation is located in Donnikotta village of Nallamada mandal in Sri Sathya Sai district.
The Union Ministry has also directed APGENCO to implement wildlife mitigation measures, undertake catchment area treatment and soil conservation works, maintain environmental flows in the Sileru River, and ensure compliance with the Forest Rights Act, 2006.
Questioning the compensatory afforestation plan, Rama Rao Dora said plantations in another district cannot compensate for the loss of natural forests in the ecologically sensitive Agency region or replace ecosystems that have sustained Adivasi communities for generations.
He also alleged that while tribal communities face prolonged scrutiny and procedural hurdles in securing land titles under the Forest Rights Act, forest clearances for large infrastructure projects are granted with relative ease.
The JAC further questioned the government’s decision to proceed with the project despite opposition from tribal communities, stating that the diversion of forest land would adversely impact both biodiversity and the livelihoods of forest-dependent Adivasis.
