The Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO), which is working in the field of water conservation, on Saturday came down heavily on the UPA Government’s decision on Friday to clear constitution of a Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) to pave the way for execution of the Polavaram irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh. Questioning the timing of the decision, the WIO said the move is “undemocratic” and “illegal”.
“This is certainly a move to woo the voters (of Andhra Pradesh) and influence the election process. We strongly condemn this action of the Union Cabinet and urge the Election Commission to take immediate action under appropriate clauses against all the Cabinet Ministers who were part of this decision,” said WIO convenor Ranjan Panda in a Press release.The Polavaram project is yet to receive necessary legal and environmental clearances. There are several cases filed by environmental activists and the State Governments of Odisha and Chhattisgarh pending against the project. The Cabinet of the outgoing UPA Government, therefore, has no right to take such a hasty decision at this juncture, Panda said.
“It has been reported that the proposed Polavaram Project Authority will clear apprehensions about the project and instil confidence in both the successor States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh as also other riparian States of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and carry out the project in a transparent and equitable manner, according to informed sources. But we have serious doubts about the claim. The Central Government under the UPA has failed miserably in settling the matters amicably and in a transparent manner. In fact, it has violated the laws of the land in pushing through this project,” alleged Panda.
Quoting Union Minister for Water Resources Harish Rawat’s statement in New Delhi in April 2013 that “There would be secretary-level tripartite meeting soon among the three stakeholders, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, to iron out the differences and facilitate an amicable solution”, Panda asked; “What happened to that promiseIJHave the States objecting to the project already agreed to your proposalsIJ Scrap the Cabinet decision immediately and wait until the next Government is formed for any further developments on this project,” he said.
Panda further said the Polavaram dam project is going to bring huge ecological and socioeconomic destructions, and political parties should stop selling false dreams about such unsustainable projects.large dams are an outdated concept, and the country needs alternatives in smaller structures of power generation and irrigation that would decentralise development and ensure that benefits reach large sections of society in a sustainable manner.“We urge politicians of the Congress and the BJP and all other parties who are promising to support the Polavaram project to show political maturity and talk about sustainable alternatives rather than such mega projects that come with a host of devastative impacts,”
said Panda.