Polavaram row: Telangana to flex muscles

Hyderabad: Close on the heels of the complaint lodged by Orissa State government with the Centre against the Polavaram project taken up by the Andhra Pradesh government, Telangana State has also decided to mount pressure on the Union government and approach legally to safeguard its interests, mainly the prevention of the submergence of low-lying areas under Polavaram project in the border district of Bhadradri–Kothagudem.

According to State Irrigation officials, the preliminary study conducted by the Telangana State found that more than 250 villages are facing submergence threat. Nearly 50 lakh cusecs of backwaters will badly affect the habitations during heavy inflows in River Godavari. The government has been demanding the Centre to conduct fresh impact assessment study in the areas surrounding the Polavaram project in the border district under the new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) rules and guidelines brought into force recently.

The government already wrote a letter to the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment for the conduct of the fresh study. The Centre did not take any initiative on the particular issue so far. The officials of the inter-state wing in the Irrigation Department were asked to pursue the issue seriously with the Union Ministry.

The government is also planning to file a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court demanding the Centre to stop the works at the national project site until the submergence issue is resolved. The State government contended that the project should not be taken up without a scientific study. The government has already filed affidavit based on a petition filed by a voluntary organisation which challenged the construction of the project without addressing the submergence issue.