Fly ash trims green cover of Kondapalli

HYDERABAD: While the government has taken up initiatives like Vanam Manam to increase green cover in the state, the area of the major forest in Krishna district Kondapalli Reserve Forest (KRF) has shrunk by 30 sq km between 2015 and 2017.
The area in which ash from Dr Narla Tatarao Thermal Power Station (NTTPS) is dumped has also increased over the years -from 0.86 sq km in 1990 to 3.38 sq km in 2017.
Worse still, the built up area around KRF has significantly gone up from 18.39 sq km in 2015 to 46.18 sq km in 2017, indicating the increased settlements in the peripheral region of the forest. These startling findings came out in a research project conducted by the department of botany of Maris Stella College in association with IIIT-Hyderabad.“Our research has shown that green cover in KRF has declined by 9 sq km between 1990 and 2015. Between 2015 and 2017, it shrunk from 106 sq km to 77 sq km, losing 29 sq km precious green cover,“ said assistant professor of IIIT-Hyderabad Rama Chandra Pillutla.
Dr Chandra said the exclusive study has been done for the first time using spatio-temporal satellite data. The changes were physically verified by multiple visits to the forest area. The primary reasons for the degradation are believed to be increased mining activity and expansion of urban settle ments.
Senior forest officials, however, ruled out any cause for alarm. “The area will remain constant and we can only state if the thickness of the forest has changed. There could a degradation by 1 or 2 sq km only,“ clarified divisional forest officer (Vijayawada) PJ Banerjee. He added that the ash pond has a dedicated area of 151 hectares. “Even if the area has increased compared to last year, it is well within the limits,“ he added.