The Central Government has allowed the Andhra Pradesh Government to resume construction work of the Polavaram dam project by ignoring the interests of Odisha and defying ‘stop-work order’ given by the Centre in 2011.
Surprisingly, Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Prakash Javadekar has done so at the personal request of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu without completion of the statutory public hearings in Odisha and Chhattisgarh. The Centre has not even informed Odisha Government about it, sources said. Naidu had requested Javadekar on April 25 in this regard. The Union Minister in his July 3 letter said that his ministry has taken the decision to keep the ‘stop-work order’ in abeyance for a period of a year.
An executive order issued by the Union Environment Ministry said during the first three-six months of this period of one year, the Government of Andhra Pradesh should ensure public hearings are conducted in the States of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and submit the outcome of the public hearings to the Environment Ministry.
As per the provisions of the Environment Protection Act, public hearings in the two States cannot be organised by the Andhra Pradesh Government; these have to be carried out by the respective State Governments through their State pollution control boards.
After the public hearings, an environment-impact assessment (EIA) could be conducted. A positive appraisal of the assessment would permit the Centre to give a nod. Construction on the project can take place only after this and other clearances.
Notably, both the States had approached the Supreme Court against the project and the verdicts were pending. Due to the proposed Polavaram project, more than 20 tribal villages in seven panchayats in Malkangiri district are feared to be submerged.