Polavaram Multi-purpose Project 21/06/2019 – Posted in: Daily News

POLAVARAM MULTI-PURPOSE PROJECT

 

For: Preliminary & Mains

Topics covered: About the Project, Significance, Objections


 

News Flash

The Polavaram Multi-purpose Project will be completed by June 2021. It is Officially known as the Indira Sagar Multipurpose Project.

  • The Centre declared it a national project in 2014.
  • The dam across the Godavari River is located in West Godavari District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh and its reservoir spreads in parts of Chhattisgarh and Orissa.

 

Features

  • The multi-purpose Polavaram project dam would be 150 feet high and will store 194 TMCs of water.
  • This project will help irrigate over 7.2 lakh acres besides providing drinking water to several cities and towns, and to industries.
  • The project is expected to generate 960 MW of power, and fulfill the water needs of industries and 540 villages in Andhra Pradesh.

 

Major Obstacles

  • The environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the project says 276 villages will be affected.
  • Around 98,000 families are affected, the government spends an extra 33,000 crores to rehabilitate them.
  • Odisha, Telangana, and Chhattisgarh have also opposed the project, fearing that it may submerge populated areas in these states.
  • Recently, the Telangana government appealed to the Supreme court to review the environmental impact assessment of the project as the clearance was obtained in 2005.
  • Earlier, Odisha Chief Minister had written to Prime Minister to stop the project until pending issues are resolved.
  • The International Water Management Institute based in Sri Lanka that studied the Krishna-Godavari river link found that 95 percent of the areas to be irrigated by the Polavaram dam through the right canal were already irrigated.
  • The flood situation estimate by the Central Water Commission has not been incorporated in the design.

 

Source: Indian Express

 

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