New Delhi: The supreme court here asked centre to file an affidavit mentioning terms and conditions to conduct public hearing in Odisha and Chhattisgarh by Saturday. Next hearing is Monday, December 3.
The follow-up comes after the Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik, November 21, requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop construction of Polavaram irrigation project until all the pending issues are resolved. In the letter to the Prime Minister, the Chief Minister also requested to give directions to the Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry to cancel the July order for Polavaram project.
The Ministry has kept the “stop work order” under remission from July 3, 2018 for a year citing the assurances given by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu that the reservoir of the Polavaram project will not be impounded without the permission of the Ministry.
Patnaik said the Polavaram project can be reformulated as per Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal (GWDT) award without causing large-scale submergence in Odisha, Telangana and Chhattisgarh.
HISTORY of Polavaram:
The project has been accorded national project status by the Union Government of India and will be the last to be accorded the status. Its reservoir spreads into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States also.
The Polavaram Project Authority was constituted by the Union Cabinet in May 2014. In June, the state was bifurcated under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act.
In December 2017, it was reported that the project contractor, Transstroy was seeking a deadline extension and a budget escalation. Transitory was reported to have its Rs. 4,300 crore loan turn NPA in July 2015.
In January 2018, the state government signed a new contract for the project spillway, spill channel and stilling basin concrete work with Navayuga Engineering.
In a review meeting in February 2018, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu was informed that the project was 53% ready.
By June 2018, 1,10,355 acres of the required 1,68,213 acres had been acquired.
In June, the diaphragm wall pylon was completed.
PNN