Patnaik asks party leaders to intensify fight against Polavaram project, BJD to launch stir in Jan

Bhubaneswar: BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Saturday urged party members to intensify their fight for justice on behalf of Odisha's tribal communities, who are likely to be severely impacted because of the Polavaram dam project in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Patnaik’s call came after a delegation of party leaders met him at his residence to brief him on their recent visit to Delhi, where they raised concerns with the Centre regarding the project’s potential impacts.

In a post on X, Patnaik said, "The Polavaram project will submerge many areas of Malkangiri and will greatly affect the tribal brothers and sisters. I met and discussed with the delegation of @bjd_odisha who submitted the demand letter to the Central Government. I advised them to continue fighting for the rights of the people. #BJDWithOdisha."

BJD delegation leader Debi Prasad Mishra said they apprised Patnaik regarding their interaction with Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil and senior officials from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as well as the chairpersons of the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) and the Central Water Commission (CWC).

Mishra confirmed that in addition to the seven members of the delegation, the party’s seven MPs had also accompanied the team during their meetings with central government officials.

Former MP and prominent tribal leader Pradeep Majhi said, "The BJD president informed us that he will fight for the rights of the tribal people and also asked us to continue the fight. The party will launch an agitation from January demanding justice for the people of Malkangiri, particularly the tribals who will be affected by the Polavaram project."

Majhi, who hails from Nabarangpur district, claimed that the Polavaram project would submerge around 200 tribal villages in the Motu and Padi blocks of Malkangiri district due to the backwater created by the dam. He also highlighted the potential environmental damage, noting that a large area of flora and fauna in Malkangiri will be submerged by Godavari river’s backwaters.

The BJD has planned a series of agitations across the state, starting in Malkangiri district. Additionally, the party is organising demonstrations in Delhi.

Majhi further claimed that the Centre is being pressured by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to continue the project, as the TDP has become a key ally of the BJP after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Centre has allocated Rs 12,000 crore in its 2024 budget for the completion of the Polavaram project, according to BJD leaders.

The BJD emphasised that the project was conceived under the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT) resolution, which set the framework for agreements between Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

However, the party argued that significant changes had been made to the original design, particularly regarding the flood discharge capacity of the dam, which was increased from 36 lakh cusecs to 50 lakh cusecs without sufficient consideration for the backwater impacts in the upstream states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.

In a statement, the BJD said Patil assured the delegation that Odisha’s concerns regarding the Polavaram Project would be taken seriously.

"The ministry of tribal affairs is committed to conducting a detailed evaluation of the Polavaram project’s impact on tribal communities, including the potential displacement, loss of agricultural land, and socio-economic challenges. The minister pledged to take proactive steps to mitigate these adverse effects," the statement said.

Leena Nandan, secretary of the ministry of environment, forests & climate change, reassured the delegation that the environmental clearances for the project would be re-examined, considering the latest data provided by Odisha.

"The delegation also requested the revival of the 2011 stay order, and Nandan assured that this matter would be reviewed," said BJD delegation leader Mishra. He added that National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) chairperson Antar Singh Arya had acknowledged the memorandum submitted by the BJD and confirmed that a site visit to the Polavaram Project would be arranged to assess the situation firsthand.

In 2011, Jairam Ramesh, the then Minister of Environment and Climate Change, issued an order halting the Polavaram project until all related issues were resolved. However, in 2014, his successor, Jayanti Natarajan, revoked it. The BJD now demands that the 2011 order be reinstated, insisting that the project should only proceed once all outstanding issues are thoroughly addressed.

The Central Water Commission Chairman and its team admitted that they lacked complete details on the project but assured the delegation that comprehensive responses would be provided once the required information was obtained, the statement added.