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Thread: Polavaram

  1. #1
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    Default Polavaram

    Dear All,
    Sharing a news item that had appeared in Indian Express. Earlier the Govt. of Odisha had protested about this project citing large forest areas are going to be submerged. It would be pertinent to mention that some of the pristine forests are going to be submerged due to the project. Now the MoEF has asked Andhra Govt. to clarify on the constructions in Polavaram.
    Sabyasachi

    MoEF asks Andhra govt to clarify on Polavaram works
    Amitabh Sinha
    Tags : Andhra Pradesh, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Polavaram multipurpose project, Environment Protection Act
    Posted: Tue Nov 02 2010, 04:10 hrs
    New Delhi:
    Taking a serious view of ongoing construction activity at Polavaram multipurpose project in Andhra Pradesh without a suitable environment clearance, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has sought explanation from the state government for not complying with its directions for getting a clearance.

    The ministry has asked the Andhra Pradesh government to explain as to why a formal show-cause notice under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act be not issued against the project proponent for continuing work at the site.

    The irrigation-cum-hydel power project on the Godavari river had been asked in March 2009 to conduct public hearings in Chhattisgarh and Orissa following changes in the design of the project. The changes included the construction of bunds/embankments on two rivers in order to avoid submergence of areas in Orissa and Chhattisgarh. Both these state governments had expressed apprehension that large parts of their border areas would get submerged by the 960-MW power project. It was because of their objections that the original design of the project — which incidentally had been given an environment clearance in 2005 — had to be changed.

    In June 2009, the Environment Ministry issued a reminder to the state government to carry out the public hearings so that its 2005 clearance could be amended to account for the design changes.

    “However, till date public hearing in the above mentioned states could not be undertaken. This Ministry has been informed that construction related to dam is continuing without getting the environmental clearance amended for additional components like construction of embankments, drainage sluices etc,” the Environment Ministry has said in a communication to Andhra Pradesh.

    The ministry has now asked the state government to furnish “within 7-10 days” all information pertaining to the construction status of the dam and related works. It has also sought reasons for not holding public hearings “even after one and half years of issuing the letter (directing that public hearings be held)”.

    In July this year, the Environment Ministry had granted forest clearance to the project on the condition that the Andhra Pradesh government would ensure that no forest land in Orissa or Chhattisgarh was submerged because of the project.

    However, Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was still not satisfied and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to express his concerns over the possibility of some tribal villages in his state getting inundated due to the project.

    The source article can be found here: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mo...works/705830/0

  2. #2
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    Default Orissa's objections invalid - says AP CM Rosaiah

    Sharing another news item that was published in Sify. The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has been quoted as saying that Orissa's objections are invalid.
    Sabyasachi


    Orissa's objections on Polavaram project invalid: Rosaiah
    Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah on Wednesday asserted that the objections raised by Orissa over the construction of multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project on river Godavari were "not valid."

    Replying to a question during a brief interaction with newsmen in the State Secretariat, the Chief Minister said there was no question of Andhra Pradesh conducting a public hearing on the Polavaram project in Orissa and Chattisgarh as directed by Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

    "How can we conduct a public hearing in those states? We have already taken adequate measures to prevent submergence of land in those states. The MoEF accorded environmental clearance for Polavaram only after that," Rosaiah pointed out.

    The Chief Minister said the state government would "reply suitably" to the MoEF letter seeking an explanation on the construction of Polavaram.

    "The Irrigation department will be replying to the MoEF letter. I have been trying to talk to Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh since yesterday but could not get across to him. I am writing a letter to Jairam today appraising the need for giving early clearance for Polavaram," Rosaiah added.

    The Chief Minister recalled that he had spoken "more than once" with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal requesting them to expedite the process of granting national status for Polavaram.

    "Not only Polavaram, we are also requesting national status for Pranahita-Chevella lift irrigation project but it is yet to get some clearances from the Centre," he pointed out.

    The source article can be found here: http://sify.com/news/orissa-s-object...dpudhidag.html

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    Default Hon'ble Supreme Court declines to stay construction of Pollavaram

    The Hon'ble Supreme Court has declined to stay the construction of the Pollavaram dam project. The next hearing is July 19th 2011 and the reports of the expert panel has to be submitted by that date. It is well known that these days the MoEF regularises projects citing the money already sunk in the project by means of construction. So this doesn't augur well for the environment. Pristine forests are going to be lost due to this construction of this dam. I am sharing a PTI article published in The Hindu.

    Sabyasachi

    Supreme Court refuses to stay Polavaram dam construction

    The Supreme Court on Monday turned down Orissa’s plea to stay construction of the controversial Polavaram dam by Andhra Pradesh and directed former Central Water Commission (CWC) member M. Gopalakrishnan to inspect the project along with CWC and submit separate reports to it.

    A bench of justices Mukundakam Sharma and A.R. Dave said Mr. Gopalakrishnan would inspect the dam along with present CWC members and submit their reports to the apex court by July 19, the next date of hearing.

    The apex court, however, refused to entertain Orissa’s plea for staying the dam’s construction, saying “it will be difficult for us to stay the construction at this stage.”

    The bench’s remark came in response to a plea by senior counsel Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Orissa, who insisted that the work should be stopped pending submission of the expert panel’s report.

    When the counsel insisted on the stay, the apex court said it can be demolished later if it was found to be built in violation of norms.

    The counsel continued to plead that the construction should be stopped as it would not be possible to demolish the dam at a later stage as expectations would be built among the beneficiaries and there would be protest by farmers leading to chaos.

    The bench, while refusing to stay the construction, assured the counsel that it would examine the plea if and when a situation arises.

    The apex court also allowed technical experts from Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh to be present at the site when the CWC team conducts the inspection.

    The bench also said that the reports of Mr. Gopalakrishnan and the CWC would be considered by the court without prejudice to the suits filed by Orissa.

    According to Andhra Pradesh government, the project will provide drinking water to three million people, produce 960 MW of power and give 23,500 million cubic feet of water for industrial use.

    The source article from The Hindu can be found here: http://www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...cle1687942.ece

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