Telangana forces AMD shelve uranium mining in Amrabad Tiger Reserve

The State government had consistently fought against the exploration move to protect the interest of Chenchu tribals and wildlife conservation, particularly the tigers.

Hyderabad: A tenacious Telangana government that waged a prolonged and determined battle against the Union government’s move to explore uranium reserves in Amrabad Tiger Reserve (ATR) has come up trumps with the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD) dropping its plans to drill boreholes in the ATR.

The State government had consistently fought against the exploration move to protect the interest of Chenchu tribals and wildlife conservation, particularly the tigers. As part of its stiff resistance, the State Assembly and Council too had passed resolutions against the uranium mining move. Subsequently, the Forest Department too submitted a report to the Central government on the adverse effects of exploring uranium in ATR and appealed for suspension of the project, a senior Forest official told ‘Telangana Today’.

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The Central government has now rejected permission to the AMD to go ahead with the project, the official said. Uranium is a common fuel of nuclear power reactors. In 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had accorded in-principle approval to a proposal by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to survey and explore uranium spread over nearly 90-sqkm in ATR.

However, there was stiff opposition from different sections, including environmental groups, conservationists and NGOs over the project. Consequently, the Telangana government had rejected the project proposal unequivocally, the official said. The contention of the State Government and environmental groups was that exploration of uranium would result in water pollution and eventually pose a threat to wildlife, especially the Tigers. This apart, the interests of local Chenchu tribals would also be affected.

More importantly, the radioactive material would pollute the River Krishna that flows nearby and the same water would be supplied to Hyderabad and other places en route. “This would lead to health and environmental issues. Considering all these factors, the project was rejected by the State Government,” the official said.

 

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