Green Tribunal gives red signal to AP works

Naidu’s grand plan for 70 beaches

Hyderabad: The grand plan of Andhra Pradesh to beat the ‘God’s Own Country’ of Kerala and Silver beaches of Goa by opening up 70 beaches along its shoreline have failed to materialise as the Green Tribunal did not give its nod for it.

According to the officials in the Tourism Department, State is “only next to Andaman and Nicobar and Gujarat in terms of a State having longest coast line in the country. And, relatively it remains unexplored and now the government wants to exploit its tourism potential,” they added.

At present, it was only in Maharashtra State where about 64 identified beaches exist. This is in addition to about 16 beaches located in Mumbai city alone. But, it was the beaches of Kerala and Goa, and some in Karnataka which have been pulling crowds in great numbers from within the country and also from abroad.

Taking the relatively calm and tranquil locations located in the State, a little over 70 beaches were identified by the State government to build its brand new “Sun Raise State.” The State Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) had already developed tourism related infrastructure in first phase.

These developed locations are Visakhapatnam, Rushikonda, Baruva, Kalingapatnam, Chintapalli, Mypadu and few others. Now, “out of seven places, the second phase has been contemplated to be executed at six places. For, in one place that is at Chintapalli there is no land available for rolling out second phase,” said a senior tourism department official.

Earlier, “we faced no problem as no one objected to our works since ours is a State government entity. But, now the government wanted to take up the second phase under Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. As and when private entities have come into picture, officials concerned are always insisting adherence to the Costal Zone Regulations,” he added.

Hence, development of several beaches like Baruva, Bhavanapadu, Kalingapatnam, Kallepalli and Mogadalapadu in Srikakula district, seven beaches identified in and around Visakhapatnam have to be taken up under PPP mode. Also, about four places have been identified in East and West Godavari districts. Around 10 to 15 beaches are identified in Krishna, Guntur, Nellore and Prakasam districts, they added.

Now, after preparation of the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) is required to take the project forward. Besides, if any one complains, these projects then will have to pass the Green Tribunal’s test too, they clarified.

By VRC Phaniharan