Orissa to continue Polavaram protest

Allotment of alternative bauxite mines to Vedanta being examined.

The Orissa government has said it will continue to oppose the proposed Polavaram power plant on the Godavari, even as the chairperson of the ruling UPA at the Centre, Sonia Gandhi, has assured the Andhra Pradesh government that national status would be accorded to the controversial project.

“We will continue to oppose the Polavaram project because of our concerns that tribal-dominated villages and forest land in the area will be submerged. We will certainly take steps to ensure that the interests of the state are not disturbed by the project,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told reporters here today.

Patnaik had recently called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, apprising him of the concerns of inundation of tribal villages due to the implementation of the project. The Prime Minister on his part, had assured the chief minister that the tribal villages would not be allowed to be submerged.

It may be noted that the UPA chairperson in a written communication to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Friday had given assurance of a national status to the Polavaram project and had complimented Rosaiah for his initiative in getting clearances for various projects, including Polavaram.

The Central Water Commission had approved various aspects of the project, including its design, while the High Power Steering Committee of the Centre had recommended national status for it. If national status was finally given, the Centre would meet 90 per cent of its cost as against 25 per cent now under Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP),

Meanwhile, the Orissa government has stated that the proposal to allot alternative bauxite mines to Vedanta Aluminium are being examined.