Environmentalists are up in arms against the proposed establishment of a very low frequency (VLF) communication transmission radar station by the Indian Navy in the Damagudem forest area of Telangana’s Vikarabad district, about 80 km from Hyderabad.
Last month, the Congress government announced the transfer of 2901 acres of forest land at Damagudem near Puduru village to the Indian Navy to set up the VLF station
State forest department officials signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the officials of the Eastern Naval Command (ENC) for the same, in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.
An official statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said the Indian Navy has chosen Damagudem as a key base for establishing the VLF station because of its strategic location. It is located at about 250 feet above the sea level for capturing the signals from ships.
“The Navy uses a VLF communication transmission system with ships and submarines from this location. This is the second such station in the country, the first one being INS Kattabomman Radar Station at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu which has been serving the Navy since 1990,” it said, adding that the Damagudem area was identified by the Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam as the suitable location for the second radar station.
Since 2010, the Indian Navy has been in touch with the state government. In 2014, the Union Forest and Environment department approved the Navy’s proposal. The Navy has paid Rs 18.56 crore for the works undertaken for land conservation measures.
However, the state government had not allocated land for a long time due to resistance from local environmentalists, who formed into an association called the “Damagudem Forest Protection Committee.”
The committee filed a petition in the state high court in 2018 opposing the establishment of the naval radar station, as it not only destroys the green cover in the area but also causes threats to the local flora and fauna.
Environmentalist Prof K Purushottam Reddy, who is associated with the Damagudem forest protection committee, said the committee was not opposed to the Indian Navy project per se, but only to its location in the forest area that has over 1.2 million trees – small and big.
“Moreover, Damagudem falls in the Anantagiri hill range, which is the mouth of River Musi, the tributary of Krishna. It was on this river that Osman Sagar reservoir was built on the outskirts of Hyderabad, which has been a drinking water source for over a century,” Reddy said, adding that the river water could be affected by the radiation from the radar station.
The high court which initially stayed the project, vacated the stay later asking the Indian Navy to take all precautions in accordance with the conditions decided by the state government. “The case is still pending in the high court,” another environmentalist and public policy expert Narasimha Reddy Donthi said.
After the Congress government was formed in the state in December 2023, the ENC authorities took up the issue again and finally, the government agreed to allocate the land to the Indian Navy for the VLF radar station.
“Along with the navy station, a township will be constructed and it would have schools, hospitals, banks and markets. The Naval unit consists of around 600 naval personnel and other civilians. About 2,500 to 3,000 people live in this township,” the ENC authorities told the government.
They assured that adequate measures would be taken to preserve biodiversity and ecological balance in the region through extensive planting. As a part of this project, about 27 km of road will be constructed around Damagudem Reserve Forest. They said the new VLF station will be completed in 2027.
Water and climate change expert BC Subba Rao said the adverse impact of the project would ruin the Damagudem forest reserve, as thousands of trees and plants, including 16,000 varieties of medicinal plants, would have to be felled. “This area is known for its high air quality index. If the Naval project comes up, it will heat up the entire area and lead to climate change,” he warned.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi also opposed the Naval radar station project. BRS working president K T Rama Rao told reporters on January 29 that in the last 10 years, his party government resisted the project as it would affect wildlife due to radiation.
“It will damage the entire ecosystem due to destruction of a vast extent of forest cover. It will also affect the rainfall pattern in the region,” he said.
State forest minister Konda Surekha, however, rubbished the BRS leaders’ charge. She said the Congress government had allocated land to the Navy only after conducting due diligence. “The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests also gave the clearance after examining all the aspects. The high court also rejected the claims of tree cutting. There is no threat to the local population or the environment,” Surekha said.
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