Polavaram row: Ramesh Majhi slams Oram's statement

Bhubaneswar: Launching a scathing attack on Union Minister Jual Oram, Odisha minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi on Tuesday said the Tribal Affairs Minister’s statement in the Rajya Sabha on the controversial Polavaram project was not based on facts.

Majhi, ST, SC Development, Minorities and Backward Classes Welfare Minister, in a letter to Oram said, "While relying to a question by MP D Raja in Rajya Sabha on January 4, 2018, you had said that no Scheduled Tribe person in Odisha will be affected by the Polavaram project. I would like to remind you that the project by Andhra Pradesh government has flouted several norms for which 6,818 people of the State, including 5,916 belonging to ST will get affected.”

He said Oram's statement was "unfortunately" not based on facts.

Besides, 7,656 hectares of cultivable land and 25 human habitats, including 10 small habitats and 15 revenue villages, will be affected due to the project, Mahji said in the letter.