By Tdp Mla Kuna

Copyright thehindu

September 11, 2025, was another busy day in the field for tribal couple Savara Minna Rao and his wife Raani, who began their morning by spraying pesticide on their one-acre cotton plantation at the foothills of the Chelam Hill range. The scene was similar across surrounding villages, where tribal farmers from the Savara tribe—classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Andhra Pradesh—were engaged in farm activities in fields of cotton, maize, and paddy.

However, around 11 a.m., Mr. Minna Rao, 40, alerted fellow villagers and farmers over the phone after spotting a drone flying over his field and suspecting that the government had launched a drone survey without their knowledge. “At around 11 a.m., a giant drone flew over my cotton field. My wife noticed it moving towards our Chelam Hills”, said Mr. Minna Rao, adding that they had witnessed a similar scene earlier on September 09.

By noon, Savara and Jatapu tribes of the Chelam Hill traced the drone to a group of officials operating it from the outskirts of Vennelavalasa village in Sarubujjili Mandal. “We located the two officials and alerted the local police, who rushed to the spot and seized the drone. We are determined not to allow any survey on our land and air without consent,” said Mr. Badangi Suresh Dora of Jatapu tribe.

The tribals of Savara and Jatapu are on tenterhooks after the Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO) announced in January that Chelam Hill range has been selected to set up a 3,200 MW Critical Coal-based Thermal Power Plant with an estimated cost of ₹30,000 crore. The core area of the proposed project falls within the limits of Chiguruvalasa Panchayat in Sarubujjili Mandal and Jangalapadu Panchayat in Burja Mandal.

The State-owned firm had disclosed its proposal following a site inspection in January, triggering protests in the Chelam Hills, which is spread across the Mandals of Burja and Sarubujjili in Srikakulam district. The hill range acts as a boundary between the tribal pocket that falls in the 5th Schedule Area (of the Constitution) and Non-5th Schedule Area, where the project is proposed.

The Chelam Hill range stands out as one of the most fertile regions in northern Andhra Pradesh, where local tribal communities have explored its agricultural potential by cultivating a variety of commercial crops. In a year, they cultivate—cotton, maize, cashew, mango, turmeric, ginger, broom grass, banana and pineapple—while also collecting forest produce, custard apple and jackfruit, which they sell at Sarubujjili.

Mr. Badangi Suresh Dora,35, president of Power Plant Vyatirekha Porata Committee (PPVPC), a group formed against the thermal power plant, is a full-time farmer whose family depends on commercial crops—cotton, maize, turmeric, cashew—forest produce, primarily custard apple in Bodlapadu village in Burja Mandal.

According to sources, no official has ventured into the area for field level studies since early September as the Savaras and Jatapus inhabiting the 26 villages are up in arms against the proposed project. They are backed by more than ten villages inhabited by non-tribals and Dalits in the proposed area.

Cotton Belt

In Jangalapadu Panchayat, as winter slowly sets in, the cotton fields are in full bloom and will be ready for harvest starting next January. The core area of the project Bodlapadu village, consisting of 25 households from the Jatapu tribe, is a cotton belt, as every family cultivates cotton on at least two acres of land. Each household more or less possesses at least eight acres of land.

“We grow everything in our forest and hills except salt and in return the nature blesses us with timely rains and streams. The government might provide compensation for the land, but it can never restore the forest, hills, and streams that will be irreversibly disrupted by the project,” said 65-year-old Koorangi Bangaramma. She attends to cotton fields and cashew orchards grown on the hill slope by her family.

Echoing Bangaramma’s sentiment, Palakala Sravani, 28, said, “As part of wedding rituals, a branch of Mahua tree, is placed in front of the bride and the bridegroom’s houses to mark the beginning of the festivities. Now, after the project disturbs the forests, Mahua tress may die due to pollution from the power plant. Where will we then go to sources these branches.” A mother of two children, Ms. Sravani, completed Intermediate and helps her family in agricultural activities.

Two kilometres from Bodlapadu comes Jangalapadu Gram Panchayat, which was formed in 2020 after bifurcation from Annampeta Panchayat, consisting of 70 households from the Savara tribe.

Village elder Savara Lakshmana Rao said that they are not prepared to part with the forest which has been a source of survival. “Our entire village depends on agriculture. We believe that the power plant will cause a change in the environment and climatic conditions due to air and water pollution. We are not prepared to part with our land and will never consent to be rehabilitated for the project.” His family owns 19.5 acres of land, including 9.5 acres of forest land given to them under the Recognition of Forest Rights (RoFR) Act, 2006.

The Savaras for over a decade had been demanding that the government sanction a canal through the Chelam hills to bring Vamsadhara water into their fields. “The Rivers’ Interlinking Canal passes through Vennelavalasa village, where farmers parted with 12 acres for the interlinking canal. The Savaras, Jatapus, and non-tribal farmers appealed for a branch canal to bring Vamsadhara waters to the Chelam hill range. However, our appeals fell on deaf ears. Now, the State government is willing to divert the Vamsadhara river water to push the proposed thermal power plant,” alleged PPVPC Treasurer Attuluri Ravikanth.

‘Suitable for the project’

Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinakar said that Chelam Hill range was selected because of its geographical advantages. “The Vennelavalasa area (falling in the Chelam Hill range) has been selected for the supercritical coal-based thermal power project due to its suitability and geographical advantages. At this stage, the feasibility study is in progress. The district will also need the project to meet its power demand and give a fillip to industrial growth. The production cost will be minimised, given the proximity of the project site to Moolapeta Port and Srikakulam Road railway station.”

The project falls in the Amadalavalasa Assembly Constituency represented by TDP MLA Kuna Ravi Kumar, who welcomed the project with an assurance of timely support.

The area is suitable for the power plant on all fronts. The hills will support deposition of fly ash, while a 0.5 TMC-reservoir at Vennelavalasa enables storage of water from Vamsadhara river, said the MLA. “The production cost of the plant will almost be reduced to half if the project comes up at Vennelavalasa area as coal can be shipped via sea route from Odisha’s Talcher Coalfield to Moolapeta port in Srikakulam district,” he added.

A maximum of 1,200 acres of land is expected to be required for the project. The exact locations for setting up the facilities of the project are yet to be finalised by the APGENCO as the scientific surveys are still underway, said Mr. Ravi Kumar.

“Our idea is to be located close to coal mines to save cost on coal transportation and production. The project, proposed in the Srikakulam district, is a supercritical coal-based thermal power project. It’s an indigenous technology to be supplied by L&T and BHEL. Same technology is available at Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station, Nellore District”, said APGENCO Director (Thermal Power) P. Ashok Kumar.

Protection of forests

Adivasi Samkshema Parishad (ASP), a network of tribals of Andhra Pradesh, is extensively campaigning against the the proposed power plant in Burja and Sarubujjili Mandals.

ASP State vice-president Vaba Yogi, who is coordinator of the Power Plant Vyatirekha Porata Committee (PPVPC), said, “Culture, fertile land and water resources of Adivasis will be wiped out once the power project is operational. The government can propose any other project that won’t harm the environment and affect the livelihood of the Savaras and Jatapus.”

The tribals would intensify their protests on the lines of Sompeta and Kakarapalli movements to stop the proposed thermal power plant, he warned.

Elderly farmer Savara Thotayya, of Addurupeta village, another village in the core area of the project, said that the Savaras will not allow any government official to carry out ground-level surveys. This village with 23 households of the Savara tribe has been cultivating custard apple for commercial purposes. Mr. Thotayya, who owns eight acres of land including four acres given under the RoFR, claimed that the officials and public representatives have not been seen in the proposed area because they are scared of the locals.

Srikakulam’s fight for environment

The Srikakulam district had witnessed India’s leading environmental movements led by fisherfolk to oppose two coal-based thermal power plants to protect two wetlands—Beela of Sompeta where Nagarjuna Construction Company proposed 2,640 MW power plant and Nowpada Swamp of Kakarapalli where East Coast Energy Private Limited (ECEPL) proposed a 2,640 MW power plant. Five protesters were gunned down by the police forces in the two separate movements.

On July 14, 2010, three protesters—Gonapa Krishna Murthy, Gunna Jogarao and Bendalam Krishma Murthy—were killed when police opened fire against the protesters on the 405-hectare Sompeta wetland (Locally known as Beela) as they marched to stop the work on the ground. The next day, the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) cancelled the environment clearance of the project. The 2,166-day Sompeta movement was led under the banner of Paryavarana Porata Samithi (PPS).

On February 28, 2011, two protesters—Seerapu Yerraiah and Battina Barikavad— were killed when police opened fire on the protesters at Vadditandra village during the protest against ECEPL’s thermal power plant proposed in the Kakarapalli swamp in Santha Bommali Mandal. The project was to be built on 992 hectares of swamp. The next day, (March 1), the Ministry of Environment and Forest suspended the work on the site. The Kakarapalli movement was led by the Bhavanapadu Thermal Vyatireka Porata Samiti (BTVPS).

The Paryavarana Porata Samithi of Sompeta movement and Bhavanapadu Thermal Vyatireka Porata Samithi of Kakarapalli movement have already consented to guide and extend their support for the movement of the tribes against the Vennelavalasa thermal power plant.

Dr. Y. Krishna Murthy, the front-runner of the Sompeta movement, said, “We are prepared to offer our support to the tribes to wage a battle against the critical coal-based power plant in Vennelavalasa. A thermal power plant will be an environmental disaster that leads to pollution of the air and natural resources in the surroundings. Such projects should not be allowed.”