NGT serves notice on KT Rama Rao on illegal farmhouse

Hyderabad: The National Green Tribunal has on Friday served notices on the Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar’s son and minister KT Rama Rao for the alleged illegal construction of a high-end farmhouse in the prohibited ecologically catchment area on Hyderabad outskirts. Minister Rao, who is also the working president of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), currently holds the ministerial portfolios of information technology, industries, municipal administration and urban development, among others. The Tribunal’s Chennai bench served notices on minister Rao while hearing a petition by the Opposition Congress’ Lok Sabha member A Revanth Reddy for allegedly building a VVIP farm house over 25 acres in ecologically sensitive zone in violation of the Tribunal’s earlier directives.

Revanth Reddy’s counsel K Sravan Kumar said NGT has ordered setting up a fact finding committee headed by the Union Environment Ministry’s regional office directing to submit the report in two months. The other members of the fact finding committee include the Telangana Pollution Control Board, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, Water Works department, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority and the Rangareddy District Collector.