Naveen asks Andhra to stop construction on Polavaram project

Bhubaneswar: Protesting ongoing work on contentious Polavaram project, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday asked Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu to stop all construction till issues are resolved.

In a letter to Naidu, Patnaik claimed that the construction work being undertaken by Andhra Pradesh is in clear violation of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT) Award and is also not conforming to the national standards and norms.

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“The construction work of the Polavaram project should be stopped immediately and the work may not recommence till the issues concerning Odisha are resolved,” said Patnaik in his letter.

The Odisha government maintains that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in 2015 had decided to keep the ‘stop work order’ in abeyance for one year based on the request of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister vide his letter subject to several conditions.

However, the construction work on Polavaram project is going on without any further permission by MoEF&CC and no efforts are being made to resolve the issues concerning Odisha, said Naveen in his letter.