Telangana: AMD Suspends Plans To Explore Uranium In Amrabad Tiger Reserve Amid Opposition From State

A one-day seminar on 'Radiation and Environment' was organised on Monday (15 March) by the Indian Nuclear Society at the Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) office in Hyderabad.

During a media interaction after the event, AMD Director Dr DK Sinha said that due to opposition from the state government, it has suspended plans of taking up survey and drilling of boreholes to estimate the uranium deposits in Amrabad Tiger Reserve for the time being.

He termed the suspension of the project as 'Telangana's loss'. Sinha said there is no hurry for it as many other mining-friendly states are welcoming them like Rajasthan and Jharkhand where AMD is taking up similar projects, reports The New Indian Express.

Sinha pointed out that books containing unscientific and false information regarding uranium exploration were circulated among the public, creating fear among them against the proposed uranium exploration project in the tiger reserve.

“The interest in such projects lies in the fact that exploration for uranium also throws up information regarding availability of other valuable minerals, like how gold and chromium were revealed during uranium exploration in Jharkhand,” he added.

In 2019, serious differences emerged between the Centre and Telangana government over uranium explorations in the Amrabad Tiger Reserve, spread across Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts in the southern part of the state.

The state forest department had said it will not allow any exploration in the area. The state opined that the transportations of drilling equipment, movement of vehicles and man force would lead to loss of biodiversity and contamination of the soil and air in the reserve.