Addressing public interest litigation by Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Intellectuals' Forum, the Supreme Court (SC) said that it couldn’t reverse environmental damage due to "development." The Andhra Pradesh (AP) based NGO had accused the AP Government of infringing on two ancient tanks that collect rain water by converting them into housing complexes. The SC warned that the right to shelter should not supersede the right to environment and pointed out that state representative were mere custodians of community property and cannot alienate or infringe upon them. An expert committee appointed by the SC said that one of the tanks could be revived while the other irreversibly lost. The SC has instructed the state Government to revive the feeder channels, clearing housing and "development" that block rain water feeds, bar ground water harvesting, and institute rain water harvesting for the redeemable tank. The SC also banned the use of ground water from the other tank. In the last one year, the free power policy AP Government has resulted in over-exploitation of groundwater often rendering ancient aquifers dry. This election largess that brought it to power has nearly bankrupted the state electricity board.