Polavaram Project has got environmental clearances in 2005. National Environmental Appellate Authority has canceled the clearances in 2007 following the objections of the Odisha Government. Since Chandrababu came to Power, the Central Government is imposing a Stay on the Appellate Order.
The Stay is extended on yearly basis. Last Stay Order expired on Monday but then, the state government’s request to extend the stay is pending with the Central Government and the stay is unlikely to get extended till the arrival of Environment Minister, Harshavardhan.
On the other side, Odisha Government is trying its level best to ensure that the Center does not give a Stay. BJD, the ruling party there is using it as a political issue over BJP. The Saffron Party which is fancying its chances in Odisha Assembly Elections in 2019 is in two minds.
Polavaram Multi-Purpose Irrigation Project comes with a total capacity of 194 TMC which will irrigate about Five Lakh Acres over Two Crops Every year. The Project will also generate 960MW of Hydel Power which is the cheapest available power in the market right now. Hence the project is said to be very beneficial for the state and is treated as the ‘Life Line’.
