AP multi-purpose project could submerge over 250 villages: Natarajan

New Delhi: The Environment ministry has said that over 1.5 lakh people will be affected due to construction of the Polavaram multi-purpose project in Andhra Pradesh. “A total of 1,77,275 persons will be affected in Andhra Pradesh as a result of construction of the project,” Environment and Forest minister Jayanthi Natarajan said in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha. She said the project is likely to cause submergence of 29 villages in West Godavari district, 42 villages in East Godavari district and 205 villages in Khammam district. [caption id=“attachment_1274353” align=“alignleft” width=“300”]  AFP[/caption] Odisha and Chhattisgarh have raised objections to the implementation of the project as it will also cause submergence in some areas of their state, she said. “To address this issue, the AP government has proposed construction of protective embankments on the banks of Sileru and Saberi rivers in Chhattisgarh and Odisha,” Natarajan said. She said the Andhra Pradesh government has also proposed a Resettlement and Rehabilitation plan for project affected persons in the two states. In her reply, the Environment minister also maintained that as per the requirement of EIA notification 2006, the AP government was asked to ensure holding public hearing by the respective state government representatives in Chhattisgarh and Odisha for the proposed protective embankments and submit the outcome of the hearings to the ministry. “The said public hearings are yet to be conducted in Chhattisgarh and Odisha although Andhra Pradesh government has been requesting these two state governments for the same,” Natarajan said. Chhattisgarh had approached the Supreme Court in 2011 praying for ad-interim ex parte stay and injunction restraining Andhra Pradesh from proceeding further with the construction of the project besides setting aside clearances such as Environment Clearance, R&R clearance, forest clearance, TAC clearance and permanent injunction of the construction of the project. “The original suit is pending before the court,” the Environment Minister said. PTI