Govt puts AP power project on hold

NEW DELHI: A day after four persons died when the police tried to clear protestors against the Nagarjuna Construction Company's thermal power plant at Sompeta, Srikakulam, in Andhra Pradesh, the Union environment and forests ministry withdrew the environmental clearance for the project on Thursday.

Also on the same day, the National Environment Appellate Authority, which heard a petition against the project, cancelled the clearance. The appellate authority said the the clearance was based on wrong information that was furnished by the company.

Though the firm had claimed that the plant would be build on a dry agricultural land, it was found later that the area was a wetland of great ecological significance. It also noted that even during the public hearing 95% of the people present had rejected the project, and there had been widespread protests against it. 


  **Details here.