Bhubaneswar, Dec 1 (PTI) Telangana today announced itssupport on the Polavaram issue to Odisha, which has beendemanding the project's work be stopped till the pendingissues are settled in the Supreme Court.
"We are with the Odisha government so far as Polavaramissue is concerned. Telangana will also be equally affected bythe project," Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Sriharitold reporters after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikhere.
Srihari held a meeting the Odisha chief minister herethis evening during which they discussed Polavaram and Patnaiksolicited continued support of Telangana government on theissue, a CMO official said.
Telangana has been fearing submergence of many of itsvillages due to the Polavaram multi-purpose project on theGodavari river as the estimated flood discharge is much higherthan the initial estimates.
The Odisha government has been seeking a relook at thePolavaram project and Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister NarendraModi on it on November 29 urging him not to allow theconstruction of the Polavaram project till all pending issuesare settled in the Supreme Court.
Patnaik in his letter had also expressed his "deepconcern" over the "sacrifice" of Odisha's interests in theproject without addressing its "legitimate concerns""It is unfortunate that the construction of the projectis going on at a rapid pace despite the pendency of the matterin the Hon'ble Supreme Court and also despite my previousletters," he had said.
Patnaik said that in his previous letters he hadexpressed deep concern regarding submergence of a large numberof villages in Odisha, majority of them inhabited by scheduledtribes, if the Polavaram project in its current form ispermitted to proceed.
The project's construction had been taken up by AndhraPradesh unilaterally much before obtaining the Central WaterCommission's clearance based on plans or design that arein violation of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal award andnot agreed to by the states of Chhattishgarh and Odisha, hehad said.
Odisha is of the opinion that work on the project work isgoing on without conducting any public hearing in itsterritory, which is a mandatory requirement for gettingany environmental clearance.
The issue of public hearing is pending in the court,Patnaik had said adding it was "surprising that neither theconcerns of those most affected by the project are considerednor their involvement is sought." PTI SKN KKANB.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.