Orissa moves SC over Polavaram

Continuing its protest over the Rs 10,000-crore Polavaram power project on the Godavari river in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Orissa government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court opposing the Centre’s decision to give an environmental nod for the controversial project.

“In our petition in the Supreme Court, we have demanded the cancellation of the environmental clearance given to the project by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to the Polavaram project. The state government has argued as to how the ministry could give the clearance when a case related to the project is already pending in the apex court,” Suresh Mohapatra, secretary (water resources), told Business Standard. According to state government estimates, the project was likely to submerge 2119.38 hectares of land in the Naxalite-affected tribal areas of Malkangiri district.

The Orissa government had first moved the Supreme Court after MoEF had given its interim approval for the project in 2008.

Now, it has sought a declaration that Andhra Pradesh had no right or entitlement to undertake or proceed with the project on the Godavari river. It has also stated that embankments were not permanent solutions to effectively contain submergence during floods.

The Orissa government has also accused the Central Water Commission of not furnishing any details before approving the project.

The filing of the petition in the apex court comes on the heels of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s statement that Orissa would continue to oppose the Polavaram project, owing to its concerns of submergence of tribal villages and forest land.