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Koraput district administration launched a thorough probe on Friday into the alleged land fraud at the Tentuligumma hydropower project located in Boipariguda block.
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Through probe by Koraput Admin launched
This move comes after allegations of the fraudulent activities were aired in an OTV news broadcast. The Collector and District Magistrate V Keerthi Vasan commissioned the Deputy Collector of Jeypore to conduct a detailed inquiry and present a report on the construction operations associated with the project.
In 2004-05, the Hyderabad-based Meenakshi Hydropower Private Limited entered an agreement with the State government to initiate this project. Since 2015, the company has been generating 25 megawatts of electricity.
However, concerns of locals are rising over reports that the company is nearing completion of a second project, and a third project is being constructed without proper authorisation. The under-construction projects have been built on forest land.
Local authorities have also called upon Boipariguda forest division to evaluate the project’s impact on Dhandarakhol reserve forest, a concern due to its potential effects on 19 surrounding villages.
“After getting the news, we have launched a probe and asked the agency concerned to submit their approval letter and other credentials with us. A committee led by Jeypore Sub-Collector will probe into the allegations. We will take further steps based on the inquiry report,” the Koraput Collector expressed to mediapersons.
Resentment is brewing over alleged encroachments made by private hydropower projects on protected forest lands in the picturesque Boipariguda block of Koraput district.
Local communities voiced their distress on Tuesday, fearing environmental degradation and a threat to their livelihoods allegedly owing to the unauthorised projects by Meenakshi Hydro Power Private Limited, the Hyderabad-based firm.
It is alleged that Meenakshi Hydro Power initiated these projects under agreements made with the previous government in Odisha in the FY 2004-05 period and has been producing 25 megawatts of electricity since 2015.
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Accusations have emerged stating that the company is progressing with additional projects without securing the necessary forest and other clearances. The company purportedly misrepresented their agreement to only concern a singular project.
