NEW DELHI: Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh on Friday said that he would convene a meeting of chief ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Chhattisgarh to find a way forward for the Polavaram irrigation and hydel project in Andhra Pradesh.
Replying to a short notice question in the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that although the Forest clearance was given to the project, one of the conditions for giving the clearance for the project was that there would be no submergence in Orissa and Chhattisgarh.
Ramesh said, “Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, who sent a four-page letter to me, argued against continuing the Forest and Environment Ministry’s clearance for the Polavaram project on the grounds that there would be submergence in Chhattisgarh.
There have also been questions raised by the Orissa.” He asked BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu to persuade Chhattisgarh Chief Minister to hold public hearing on the project. “Without the protective embankments being built, the submergence will take place, a condition of clearance will be violated.
The condition for clearance is that there will be no submergence in Chhattisgarh and Orissa,” he asserted.
Venkaiah Naidu said, “It is the duty of the Union Minister and not that of political parties to take initiative to call all the three chief ministers, hold a meeting and try to sort out the issue.” Responding to a query by M V Mysura Reddy, Ramesh said, “If the Andhra Pradesh Government decides to reduce the height of the dam that will obviate the need of the protective embankments, which is the easier solution.
That means you do not need to construct the protective embankments in Chhattisgarh and Orissa.