BJD Delegation Briefs Union Minister On Polavaram’s ‘Adverse Impact’ On Odisha

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: A BJD delegation met Union Minister for Jal Shakti C R Patil to raise concerns over adverse impact of the Polavaram project in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Odisha.

The delegation was led by senior BJD leader Debi Mishra along with BJD MPs of Rajya Sabha, MLAs, former ministers of the Odisha government, former MPs and MLAs from the Malkangiri and Koraput regions.

In its memorandum, the regional party mentioned that the Polavaram project is likely to impact the lives and livelihoods of thousands of tribal people, especially those from vulnerable and primitive tribes in Malkangiri.

“The implications of this project for the lives and livelihoods of thousands of tribal people, especially those from vulnerable and primitive tribes in Malkangiri, require urgent attention and remedial action,” the party claimed in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The delegation objected to the recent sanctioning of Rs 15,000 crore by the central government for early completion of the project and claimed that the latest modifications in design would have a disastrous impact on the land, livelihood, and safety of the local communities, mostly tribals.

“Significant changes have been made to the original design flood discharge capacity, increasing the flood discharge 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 lands and homes,” the BJD claimed.

The delegation would also meet top officials of the Central Water Commission and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and submit memoranda on the adverse impacts of the Polavaram project on Odisha.

Notably, a ‘fact-finding’ team of the BJD headed by former minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, during a visit to Motu and Padia blocks of the Malkangiri district in August, found that the residents of the 236 villages are facing a grave threat to their lives, livelihoods, and cultural heritage due to the potential submergence to be caused by the project.