Orissa Govt protests Polavaram clearance
Saturday July 1 2006 12:58 IST

BHUBANESWAR: The dispute over the controversial Polavaram project conceived by Andhra Pradesh on Godavari river to divert water to Krishna river is likely to escalate further with the Orissa Government lodging a strong protest over the unilateral move of its neighbouring State and demanding that the environmental clearance given for the project be taken back.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik dashed off a strongly worded letter to Union Minister for Environment and Forest A Raja on Friday demanding that the Centre withdraw environmental clearance given for the project.

Stating that there was no public hearing in Orissa part for the project even though a large area would get submerged, Naveen said no joint survey was conducted by Andhra and Orissa governments. Besides, Naveen has also maintained that the list of affected areas and persons brought out by Andhra Pradesh Government is wrong.

Around 13 settlements in eight revenue villages in Malkangiri district in Orissa will go down in water, displacing 300 families. The villages are Alma, Dharibachha, Binayakpur, Kolaguda, Motu, Muraliguda, Peta and Pinamadikul. About 13,700 acres of agricultural land, two schools and one primary health centre (PHC) will be submerged by the project.

The State Government had rejected a proposal of the Andhra Pradesh Government in 2003 to change the category of 102.16 acres of forest land in its territory stating that this would violate the Forest Conservation Act and Central Government guidelines.

Naveen has suggested that the Andhra Pradesh Government should rework the project report excluding the areas to be submerged in Orissa.

The Polavaram project has been under consideration since 1943 when it was conceived as a storage scheme for the Godavari.