Tue Dec 30 17:48:21 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:

Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad Approves Budget, Addresses Concerns Over Pollution and Activist’s Arrest

Visakhapatnam, December 30, 2025 – The Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad (ZP) held its general body meeting on Tuesday, under the chairmanship of J. Subhadra, with District Collectors M.N. Harendhira Prasad (Visakhapatnam), Vijaya Krishnan (Anakapalli), and Dinesh Kumar (ASR district) in attendance, along with ZPTCs and MPTCs.

The meeting began with the felicitation of Pangi Karuna Kumari, a participant in the Blind Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup, who received cricket kits valued at ₹39,900.

The council then unanimously approved the budget for the 2025-26 financial year and budget estimates for 2026-27.

However, the proceedings were marked by dissent over the arrest of CPI-M leader M. Appalaraju under the Preventive Detention (PD) Act. Anantagiri ZPTC Dasari Ganga Raju and Nakkapalli ZPTC Gosala Kushalamma voiced strong objections, arguing that the PD Act, intended for serious criminals, was being misused against an activist supporting fishermen opposing the bulk drug park in Nakkapalli. They demanded the immediate withdrawal of the case.

Concerns were also raised regarding irregularities in pension distribution for physically challenged individuals, with allegations of eligible candidates being denied while ineligible persons received benefits. Council members demanded an investigation regardless of party affiliation.

Paravada ZPTC Bora Sanyasi Raju highlighted the escalating pollution in Parawada mandal, specifically focusing on air and water contamination stemming from local industries and overloaded lorries. He pointed out that the pollution issue had even been discussed in Parliament. Raju called for a fixed schedule for industrial effluent release to mitigate respiratory illnesses among residents and demanded action against the overloaded lorries, allegedly operated by proxies of public officials, causing road damage and accidents.

The ZP Deputy CEO, K. Raj Kumar, was present during the meeting.

This news article is published by The Hindu e-Paper and details the proceedings of the Visakhapatnam Zilla Parishad meeting, focusing on the key issues discussed and the concerns raised by council members.

I have tried to make the language as neutral as possible, focusing on reporting the facts without taking a side.

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