The Andhra Pradesh High Court has issued notices to the Managing Director of the A.P. Tourism Corporation, Visakhapatnam Collector and Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Commissioner, asking them to file counter affidavits on the issues pertaining to the Rushikonda Hill.
The notices were issued pertaining to a contempt petition filed by Jana Sena Party corporator P.V.L.N Murthy Yadav, who alleged that even as the High Court, in an earlier order, had asked the authorities concerned to follow the norms, ‘rampant mining’ was being done atop the ecologically sensitive hill.
Earlier, Mr. Murthy had filed a PIL alleging illegal mining and violation of environmental and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms. Acting on it, the High Court had passed an interim order, directing the authorities to follow the norms prescribed in the Visakhapatnam Master Plan and other other rules relating to environment, forest and CRZ.
