September 11, 2025, was another busy day on the farm for tribal couple Savara Minna Rao and his wife Rani, who started their morning by spraying insecticide in their one-acre cotton plantation in the foothills of the Chellam Hill Range. The scene was similar in nearby villages, where tribal farmers of the Savara tribe – classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Andhra Pradesh – were engaged in agricultural activities in cotton, maize and paddy fields.
However, around 11 am, Mr Minna Rao, 40, alerted fellow villagers and farmers over the phone after seeing a drone flying over his farm and suspected that the government had started the drone survey without his knowledge. “Around 11 am, a huge drone flew over my cotton field. My wife saw it moving towards our Chellam Hills”, said Mr Minna Rao, adding that he had earlier seen a similar scene on September 09.
By afternoon, the Savra and Jatapu tribes of Chellam Hill traced the drone to a group of officials operating from the outskirts of Venelavalasa village in Sarubujjili mandal. Mr Badangi Suresh Dora of the Jatapu tribe said, “We traced the two officers and alerted the local police, who reached the spot and seized the drone. We are determined not to allow any survey on our land and air without consent.”
After Andhra Pradesh Power Generation Corporation Limited (APGENCO) announced in January that Chellam 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 tribals of Savra and Jatapu are in a dilemma. The core area of the proposed project falls within the limits of Chiguruvalasa Panchayat in Sarubujjili mandal and Jangalpadu Panchayat in Burja mandal.
The state-owned company had unveiled its proposal following a site inspection in January, triggering protests in the Chellam Hills, which straddle Burja and Sarubujjili mandals of Srikakulam district. The hill range acts as a boundary between the tribal area which falls in the 5th Schedule area (of the Constitution) and the non-5th Schedule area, where the project is proposed.
The Chellam Hill Range is 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, and also collect forest produce, custard apple and jackfruit, which they sell in Sarubujjili.
Savra tribal women are drying maize crop in Edorupeta village of Burja mandal. , Photo Courtesy: T. Appala Naidu
President of the Power Plant Vyatirekha Porata Samiti (PPVPC), a group formed against the thermal power plant, Mr. Badangi Suresh Dora, 35, is a full-time farmer whose family depends on commercial crops—cotton, maize, turmeric, cashew—forest produce, mainly custard apple, in Bodlapadu village of Burja mandal.
According to sources, since early September no official has stepped into the area for field-level study as the Savaras and Jatapus living in 26 villages are up in arms against the proposed project. He has the support of more than ten villages inhabited by non-tribals and Dalits in the proposed area.
cotton belt
In Jangalpadu Panchayat, as winters are slowly setting in, cotton fields are in full bloom and will be ready for harvest from next January. The core area of the project Bodlapadu village, comprising 25 households of the Jatapu tribe, is a cotton belt, as each family cultivates cotton on at least two acres of land. Each family has at least eight acres of land.
“We grow everything except salt in our forests and hills and in return nature blesses us with timely rains and streams. The government can compensate for the land, but it can never restore the forests, hills and streams that will be irreversibly disrupted because of the project,” said Koorangi Bangaramma, 65. She takes care of the cotton fields and cashew orchards grown by her family on the hill slopes.
Savra tribal woman returns from the forest after working in the fields all day. Photo Courtesy: T. Appala Naidu
Echoing Bangaramma’s sentiment, Palakala Shravani, 28, said, “As part of the wedding rituals, a branch of the Mahua tree is placed in front of the houses of the bride and groom to mark the beginning of the festivities. Now, after the project has disturbed the forests, the Mahua trees may die due to pollution from the power plant. Then where will we go near the source of these branches.” A mother of two, Ms. Shravani completed her intermediate studies and helps her family in agricultural activities.
Two kilometers away from Bodlapadu lies Jangalapadu gram panchayat, which was formed in 2020 after bifurcation from Annampeta panchayat, which includes 70 houses of the Savara tribe.
Village elder Savara Lakshman Rao said they are not ready to leave the forest which has been their source of survival. “Our entire village is dependent on agriculture. We believe that the power plant will bring about changes in the environmental and climatic conditions due to air and water pollution. We are not ready to give up our land and will never consent to resettlement 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 had been demanding for more than a decade that the government sanction a canal through the Chellam hills to bring Vanshdhara water to their fields. “The interlinking canal of the rivers passes through Vennelavalasa village, where farmers gave up 12 acres of land for the interlinking canal. Savaras, Jatapus and non-tribal farmers appealed for a branch canal to bring the waters of the Vamsadhara river to the Chellam hill range. However, our appeals fell on deaf ears. Now, the state government is diverting the waters of the Vamsadhara river to pursue the proposed thermal Ready to fold. power plant,” alleged PPVPC treasurer Attuluri Ravikant.
A man from Savra is preparing broom sticks from broom grass collected from Chelam hill. , Photo Courtesy: T. Appala Naidu
‘Suitable for the project’
Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinakar said the Chellam Hill Range was chosen because of its geographical advantages. “The Venelavalasa area (falling in the Chellam Hill Range) has been selected for the supercritical coal based thermal power project due to its suitability and geographical advantages. At this stage, feasibility study is in progress. The district will also require the project to meet its power demand and boost industrial growth. Given the proximity of the project site to Moolapeta Port and Srikakulam Road Railway Station, the generation cost will be reduced.”
The project falls in Amadalavalasa assembly constituency represented by TDP MLA Kuna Ravi Kumar, who welcomed the project with assurance of timely support.
This area is suitable for power plants on every front. The hills will support the deposition of fly ash, while the 0.5 TMC-reservoir at Venelavalasa enables storage of water from the Vanshdhara river, the MLA said. “If the project comes up in the Venelavalasa area, the production cost of the plant will be almost halved as coal can be transported by sea from Talcher coalfield in Odisha to Moolapeta port in Srikakulam district,” he said.
The project is expected to require a maximum of 1,200 acres of land. Mr. Ravi Kumar said that the exact locations for setting up the project facilities have not been finalized yet by APGENCO as the scientific surveys are still ongoing.
“Our idea is to be located close to the coal mines to save costs on coal transportation and production. The proposed project in Srikakulam district, is a supercritical coal based thermal power project. It is an indigenous technology supplied by L&T and BHEL. The same technology is available at Sri Damodaram Sanjeevaiah Thermal Power Station, Nellore district”, said P. Ashok Kumar, Director (Thermal Power), APGNCO.
Jatapu tribal women during a village-level meeting on supercritical coal-based thermal power project at Bodlapadu village in Burja mandal of Srikakulam district. , Photo Courtesy: T. Appala Naidu
protection of forests
Adivasi Samagra Parishad (ASP), a network of tribals from Andhra Pradesh, is leading a massive campaign against the proposed power plant in Burja and Sarubujjili mandal.
ASP state vice-president Vaba Yogi, who is the coordinator of the Power Plant Vyatirekha Porata Samiti (PPVPC), said, “Once the power project is commissioned, the culture, fertile land and water resources of the tribals will be destroyed. The government can propose some other project which will not harm the environment and will not affect the livelihood of the Savaras and Jatapas.”
He warned that the tribals would intensify their protest on the lines of Sompeta and Kakrapalli movements to stop the proposed thermal power plant.
Savara Thottayya, an elderly farmer from Addurupeta village, another village in the core area of the project, said the Savaras would not allow any government official to conduct a ground level survey. This village of 23 houses of Savra tribe has been cultivating custard apple for commercial purposes. Mr. Thottayya, who owns eight acres of land, including four acres given under the RoFR, claimed that officials and public representatives have not been seen in the proposed area because they fear the local people.
Srikakulam’s fight for environment
Srikakulam district had seen India’s leading environmental movements led by fishermen to protest two coal-based thermal power plants to protect two wetlands – the Beela of Sompeta where Nagarjuna Construction Company proposed a 2,640 MW power plant and the Naupada Swamp of Kakrapalli, where East Coast Energy Private Limited (ECEPL) A 2,640 MW power plant was proposed. Five protesters were killed by police forces in two separate movements.
On July 14, 2010, three protesters – Gonappa Krishna Murthy, Gunna Jogarao and Bendalam Krishna Murthy – were killed when police fired against protesters at the 405 hectare Sompeta wetland (locally known as Beela) as they marched to stop work on the land. The next day, the National Environment Appellate Authority (NEAA) canceled the environmental clearance of the project. The 2,166-day Sompeta agitation was led under the banner of Paryavaran Porata Samiti (PPS).
On February 28, 2011, two protesters – Seerapu Yerayah and Battina Barikavad were killed when police opened fire on protesters in Vadditandra village during a protest against ECEPL’s thermal power plant proposed in the Kakrapalli swamp in Santha Bommali mandal. This project was to be built on 992 hectares of swamp. The next day, (1 March), the Ministry of Environment and Forests suspended work at the site. The Kakarapalli movement was led by the Bhavanapadu Thermal Vyatireka Porata Samiti (BTVPS).
The Environment Porata Committee of the Sompeta Movement and the Bhavanapadu Thermal Vyatireka Porata Committee of the Kakrapalli Movement have already agreed to guide and extend their support to the agitation of the tribes against the Venelavalasa Thermal Power Plant.
The leader of Sompeta movement, Dr. Y. Krishna Murthy said, “We are ready to extend our support to the tribes to wage a fight against the important coal-based power plant at Venelavalasa. A thermal power plant will be an environmental disaster that will lead to pollution of the surrounding air and natural resources. Such projects should not be allowed.”
