SC dismisses appeal against Yettinahole project

Team Udayavani, Sep 7, 2019, 11:15 AM IST

Mangaluru: The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by noted environmentalist, K N Somashekhar, against the order of the National Green Tribunal relating to Yettinahole drinking water and irrigation project on Friday September 6.

Apparently, the Supreme Court upheld the arguments of the government that blocking this drinking water project is not justifiable and hence the petitioner reportedly, has decided to file review petition against this order.

Speaking about the new development, Somashekhar said that it has been decided to register a separate case about corruption in the execution of this project and added that the decision about filing the suit either in High Court or Supreme Court would be taken after holding discussions with legal experts. The next mode of legal action will be undertaken by taking into confidence leading nature activists and lawyers, he informed.

Earlier, Somashekhar and Kishore Kumar, who is an advocate from Sakleshpur, had filed petitions questioning the forest department’s clearance given to cut down large tracts of forest for undertaking Yettinahole project. However, the National Green Tribunal had passed an order rejecting their petition, citing that Yettinahole is a drinking water project and hence no objection would be entertained. Hence in response, Somashekhar had questioned this judgement in the Supreme Court through an appeal which presently has also been rejected.