According to sources in what could be a major blow to the Andhra Pradesh government, Odisha chief minister naveen Patnaik has written to Prime Minister Narendra modi urging to him stop the construction of Polavaram project immediately. Meanwhile right from the inception of the irrigation project, Odisha government is against it and even went on to file multiple petitions against the project in Supreme Court of india.
Previously the union government has cleared few issues pertaining to Polavaram project. Furthermore after this, Odisha CM has made a request to PM modi on June 1st. In his letter naveen Patnaik mentioned that the project will cause permanent injury to Odisha and result in submergence of tribal villages in Malkangiri district and also flooding of fertile agriculture lands and large extent of forest areas.
Moreover the Odisha CM opposed the project design and a public hearing in Odisha on the project has not been held till date. Perhaps he requested modi to take the public opinion especially of the tribals who are likely to be severely affected. Reportedly Polavaram is granted by Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal. The project will irrigate three lakh hectares in AP and produce 960MW of hydropower and the Andhra Pradesh government is yet to react on Odisha CM's letter.
