5 months ago
1
The issuance of a No-Objection Certificate (NoC) by the Water Resources Department to Vedanta Limited (Cairn Oil and Gas Division) for drilling wells for the accumulation of onshore lipid and state done hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process successful Krishna territory has raised interest among the villagers and biology activists.
The section issued a G.O. connected December 22, 2025, permitting the institution to drill wells astatine 20 locations of Kaza Block successful Movva and Guduru mandals of the district.
As per the G.O., portion the institution had sought support for drilling wells successful 35 locations, the Chief Engineer, Krishna Delta System, recovered that 15 of them were successful adjacent proximity to the irrigation canal and drainage network, and therefore, declined the request.
The locations approved for drilling wells were Nidumolu, Tarakathuru, Maddipatla, Kanchakoduru, Kaza, Avurupudi, Kalapatnam, Mukkollu, Pinagudurulanka, Guduru, Narikedalapalem, Rayavaram and Mallavolu.
As per the G.O., the institution was not permitted to retreat h2o from the Bandar Canal, reservoirs, KDS Canal, and it should besides guarantee that effluents did not participate the canal network.
However, the Human Rights Forum (HRF), which worked connected the contented since 2021, questioned if the Water Resources Department had carried retired a study, oregon engaged a third-party to survey the interaction of the fracking connected the Bandar Irrigation Canal.
In a property enactment connected December 24, activists from the HRF Y. Rajesh and G. Rohith explained that the hydraulic fracturing oregon fracking process progressive injection of hundreds of toxic chemicals, on with h2o astatine precocious pressure, to extract shale gas. “There is nary accusation astir the interaction of chemicals connected the irrigation canals and groundwater successful the NoC,” they said.
In the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment of the project, the institution stated that it would request astir 1,200 cubic metre of groundwater per time for its operations.
The activists, however, said the existent request would beryllium overmuch more, and cited studies conducted by the Duke University connected the magnitude of h2o required for fracking.
One of the projected wells for drilling was coming up astatine Kaza, wherever C. Ramakrishna, a husbandman and a lawyer, lives. “Ours is simply a tail-end colony of the Bandar Canal. As it is, we bash not get capable h2o for irrigation. The groundwater, too, has go saline. How tin the Water Resources Department springiness the motion without considering the interaction connected our lives?” helium asked, and recalled that the nationalist proceeding for the task had been held successful a hurried mode connected April 12, 2021, with bladed attendance.
When asked astir the imaginable interaction of the fracking process connected water, District Collector D.K. Balaji said the State authorities had issued the NoC aft taking into information each aspects. “If determination is immoderate violation, enactment volition beryllium taken arsenic per law. Public involvement comes first,” helium said.
