BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition BJD and Congress on Tuesday demanded that the Odisha government put forth a strong stand at the meeting on the Polavaram dam project, which is to be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at New Delhi towards the end of this month.
Addressing a media conference here, BJD vice-president Debi Prasad Mishra, party spokesperson Bhrugu Baxipatra and Pradeep Majhi said the previous BJD government had been opposing the project from the beginning and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had also written to the Centre on the issue several times in the past.
“However, though the BJP government is set to complete one year in office soon, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has not taken up the issue even once with the Centre,” they added.
The BJD leaders voiced serious concern over the continued violations and unilateral implementation of the project by the Andhra Pradesh government with active support of the Centre. They demanded that the interest of the state, particularly those of the tribal communities, should not be compromised.
Stating that around 200 villages of Malkangiri district are likely to be submerged with the proposed increase in height of the dam, the BJD said no backwater study has been conducted on this. “The prime minister has called a meeting to review the progress of the project but neither the chief minister nor anybody else from the government is aware of it,” the BJD leaders pointed out further questioning if Odisha’s interests can be defended effectively.
Meanwhile, president of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das said the state government should strongly place Odisha’s stand at the meeting to protect its interest. “The height of the Polavaram dam should be reduced to minimise damage due to submergence on the Odisha side,” he added.
The OPCC president held both the previous BJD and the current BJP government responsible for compromising the interest of the state by not properly raising the issue. “Though the dam project is expected to severely impact Motu tehsil of Malkangiri district, there has been no official assessment so far on crop or other damages,” he added.