After NGT probe, Congress demands Telangana Minister's ouster

After NGT directed a probe against Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao over a plea claiming violations in an environmentally protected area, Congress state party working president Anumula Revanth Reddy has demanded his resignation.

Hyderabad: The opposition Congress has demanded resignation of Telangana Minister K.T. Rama Rao after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Friday ordered probe into alleged violations in an environmentally protected area on the city's outskirts.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Congress MP and state party working president Anumula Revanth Reddy said that the Minister should immediately step down in the interests of free and fair enquiry into the matter.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao's son holds the IT, the Municipal Administration and the Urban Development portfolio.

The NGT order came following a petition to the NGT by Revanth Reddy. In his petition in March, Reddy said the Minister owned 25-acre farmhouse in a bio-conservation zone where no construction was allowed.

On Friday, the NGT also set up a panel to enquire into the veracity of Reddy's claims and asked it to submit its report in two months.

Pointing out with some members of the probe panel are officials in departments that come under the Minister, Reddy said that he must step down immediately. "Failing which, the Chief Minister should drop him from the ministry," he said.

As Hyderabad city's drinking water requirements are sourced from Himayatsagar and Osmansagar, the Government Order 111 was introduced in 1996 to protect the catchment areas of the two lakes from civil and commercial development.

IANS