Kharasrota Drinking Water Project: Congress Seeks Action Against Odisha Govt For Fake ESIA Report

Bhubaneswar: Alleging that the state government has submitted a fake Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report for the proposed mega drinking water project over the Kharasrota river, the Congress has demanded a criminal case against the collector and SP of Kendrapada district.

Briefing the media on Saturday, spokespersons of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC), Satya Prakash Nayak and Manoranjan Das said that the state government in consultation with the IIT-Hyderabad has prepared a fake ESIA report to hoodwink the people of Kendrapada and Odisha.

Referring to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change in a gazette notification on June 16, 2015, they said that as the proposed project comes under the jurisdiction of the Bhitarkanika Eco-Sensitive zone, the state government must obtain the approval of the Eco-Sensitive Zone Committee before the commencement of the project work.

Maintaining that the state government has prepared the fake report without conducting the socio-environment assessment on the impact of the project on Bhitarkanika, the Congress spokespersons said that instead of preparing the report in consultation with an agency of international repute, why the state government has prepared the report in consultation with the civil engineering department of the IIT-Hyderabad?

Also Read: Baijayant Slams Odisha Govt Over ‘Forcible’ Construction Of Drinking Water Project In Kendrapada

Claiming that the ESIA report has no mention of the ecology of the Bhitarkanika National Park, they demanded clarification as to why the state government convened a meeting of the Eco-Sensitive Zone Committee after the completion of about 40 per cent work of the proposed project and why it has sent the ESIA report to the Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd that has taken up the project work?

“We need a clarification on whether the state government has prepared the ESIA report or the construction company has clandestinely prepared the report,” they pointed out.

Also Read: Mega Drinking Water Project Site In Odisha’s Kendrapada Turns Into Battlefield