BJD team meets central govt officials, raises concern over Polavaram project

Bhubaneswar: A delegation of Biju Janata Dal (BJD) has met top officials of ministries of environment and tribal affairs in New Delhi and apprised them of adverse impacts of Andhra Pradesh's Polavaram irrigation project on livelihood, land and interest of indigenous people in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, the party said on Thursday.

The team met the central officials on Wednesday.

The BJD delegation, led by senior leader and former minister Debi Prasad Mishra, had also met Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil in the national capital on Tuesday and apprised him of the potential of submergence of large areas in Malkangiri due to the construction of the multi-purpose project in the neighbouring state.

The team met Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary Leena Nandan and submitted a memorandum to her, highlighting how the Polavaram project would cause extensive damage to the flora and fauna in tribal-majority Malkangiri district of Odisha.

The BJD memorandum said, “The Polavaram project, as it stands, poses a severe environmental threat to the people of Malkangiri district. The lack of transparency, incomplete backwater studies and insufficient compensation plans are serious concerns that need to be addressed before the project is allowed to proceed further.” Odisha’s regional party also urged the ministry to consider the concerns seriously and ensure that the vast forest, including the flora and fauna, is protected.

The BJD delegation also claimed that over 200 tribal villages under Motu and Padia blocks of Malkangiri were likely to be submerged due to the project.

It also met Tribal Affairs Ministry's Additional Secretary Naval Jit Kapoor and National Commission of ST (NCST) Chairperson Antar Singh Arya during the day.

The BJD, in a statement, said the project was conceived under the resolution of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT), which outlined agreements between Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

“However, significant changes have been made to the originally designed flood discharge capacity of the dam. The project authorities have increased the flood discharge (capacity) from 36 lakh cusecs to 50 lakh cusecs, without sufficient consideration of the backwater impact in the upstream states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

“This shift has caused apprehensions among the affected populations of Malkangiri, who are at the risk of losing their land and homes,” it said.

Earlier, BJD president Naveen Patnaik had formed a fact-finding committee, which toured various areas in Malkangiri district and prepared a report on the possible impact of the project.