Halt Polavaram works, Odisha govt files affidavit in Supreme Court

The Odisha government has asked the Supreme Court to stop construction work of the Polavaram project. Odisha submitted a 71-page affidavit to the court. Odisha argues that it is unclear about the Polavaram submerge and that the maximum flood flow at the project is much higher than that stated by AP. The Odisha government has asked the Supreme Court to suspend the stay on the orders issued on July 10, 2018, and June 27, 2018, while halting the construction of the project.

The AP government has informed the tribunal that the floods at the Godavari at Polavaram will be 50 lakh cusecs rather than 36 lakh cusecs. According to a Roorkee IIT survey, a maximum of 58 lakh cusecs is expected to create floods in Odisha. If this happens, the Sabari and Seelur areas of Odisha will be affected by more than 200 feet flood, which cannot be tolerated.

The number of villages in Polavaram was 412 in 2005. Odisha alleges that the number of villages submerge is unclear. They wanted to stop the construction of the project to prevent their loss. The dredging has claimed further damage to a backwater in the future. The backwater study was conducted to calculate the maximum flood.

Odisha MP Sasmat Patra asked the Rajya Sabha on Friday to intervene in the matter.