SC refuses to grant stay on Polavaram

Refusing to grant a stay on the construction of a dam on the River Godavari as part of the Polavaram Irrigation Project by the Andhra Pradesh government, the Supreme Court on Monday appointed former Central Water Commission (CWC) member M Gopalakrishnan to inspect the ongoing work along with present CWC members and submit separate reports.

Earlier, the Orissa government had sought a stay on the ongoing construction work on the dam till the expert Panel files its report before the Apex Court.

However, a Bench of Justices Mukundakam Sharma and AR Dave said that it would be difficult for the Court to order a stay on the ongoing work. The Justices further appointed Mr Gopalakrishnan to inspect the ongoing work at the dam along with present CWC members and submit their reports by July 19. July 19 is the next date of hearing in the case. The Bench also said that technical experts from the states of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh should be allowed to be present at the site when the CWC team conducts the inspection.

Brushing aside the objections raised by the counsel representing the Orissa government, the Bench further said that the dam can be demolished later if it was found to have built, violating norms.

However, senior counsel Raju Ramachandran appearing on behalf of the Orissa government continued to insist that the Bench must order a stay since it would not be possible to demolish the dam at a later stage. Mr Ramachandran argued that once the dam is completed, the people benefiting from the project would be having high expectations and they would naturally protest. “Chaos would ensue,” he stated. However, the Bench stated that it would examine the plea if such a situation indeed arises.

The Polavaram project is designed to generate 960 MW of power.

The Orissa government had earlier pleaded with the Supreme Court to quash the clearance granted by the Union Ministry for Environment and Forest for the project and had said that the Pollavarm project would inundate several parts of the state.

The delay in execution of the prestigious project had shot up the cost from Rs 12,000 crore to over Rs 17,600 crore.