HC adjourns hearing of petition against RLIS

As petitions on the Rayalaseema lift irrigation scheme (RLIS), being built by the AP government, were pending with the Supreme Court, the Telangana High Court on Tuesday decided to indefinitely adjourn the petitions before it until the completion of the hearing in the apex court. Some more issues related to the project are pending before the National Green Tribunal

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy was dealing with petitions filed by Congress leader Challa Vamshichand Reddy and villagers of Vikarabad against the RLIS.

The court granted liberty to the petitioners to bring the matters into its notice once the petition was settled in the Supreme Court.

Setting aside political differences, the Telangana state government, despite being a respondent in the petitions, put forward arguments on behalf of the petitioners.

When AP Advocate General S. Sriram said the same petitioner has approached the National Green Tribunal and did not get a favourable order, Chief Justice Chauhan expressed anger that petitioner Vamshichand Reddy was indulging in ‘forum shopping’ and his petition needed to be dismissed with exemplary costs.

To this, TS Additional Advocate General J. Ramachandra Rao said the issue before the NGT was on environmental issues. He submitted that AP was indulging in double standards in submitting the arguments before the NGT and the High Court.

Ramachandra Rao that the AP government was pushing forward the project using political help from the Centre. If the provisions of the AP Reorganisation Act are followed by the AP government these issues would not have arisen, counsel said.

● TO THIS, TS Additional Advocate General J. Ramachandra Rao said the issue before the NGT was on environmental issues. He submitted that AP was indulging in double standards in submitting the arguments before the NGT and the High Court.