Mangaluru: The final arguments over Yettinahole Project were adjourned to November 7 and 8 by the principal bench of National Green Tribunal (NGT) at New Delhi, on Wednesday September 21. The court took the decision to adjourn the hearing after the advocate for the Karnataka government sought time to prepare a detailed reply.

In a minor victory for the petitioners against the project, the court warned the concerned not to fell anymore trees without acquiring necessary permission from the union environment ministry.

The lawyer for one of the petitioners, K N Somashekhar, filed an affidavit with the tribunal on Wednesday. He stated in the affidavit that Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd and contractors had felled more trees than told and also violated the order of the NGT.

The lawyer for the State government said that he couldn’t prepare a detailed reply due to various issues in the State including the ongoing Cauvery issue, which made the bench delay the final arguments of the other petitioners against the project to November 7 and 8. The bench has directed the state government to file objections within a week and stated that objections will not be entertained after that.