Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister on Wednesday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to give directions to stop the construction of Polavaram project until all the pending issues are resolved.
In a letter to the PM, Naveen said that the construction work of Polavaram project is going on a war-footing basis and if the project is completed, it will lead to a situation which will submerge large amount of forest area and fertile land along with the submergence of a number of villages resulting in displacement of primitive Tribal population in the Malkangiri district of Odisha.
He further said that the changes in the design parameters of the project will be taken care of based on the result of public hearing in Odisha.
“Public hearing in the State of Odisha has not been carried out till date. The area where public hearing has to be carried out depends on the exact extent of submergence in different areas lying in the Malkangiri. A detailed study is needed to assess the exact submergence in Odisha. Based on these studies only, the extent of submergence of forests, fertile lands and number of villages to be submerged, can be assessed,” the letter read.
If the project is allowed to be completed before the resolution of all the pending issues, it will cause permanent injury to the interest of the people of Odisha. “In view of the above, it is my earnest request to give directions to cancel the order given by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF & CC) for Polavaram project on 10.07.2018 and to stop the construction of the project until all the pending issues are resolved.”