ABHIJIT ROY CHOWDHURY
TIA
NEW DELHI: Serious differences have surfaced between Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) and Ministry of Water Resources over the Pollavaram project.
A day after Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) had sent a show cause notice to the Andhra Pradesh government over the Pollavaram project the Union Minister for Parliamentry Affairs Pawan Kumar Bansal said "I will not comment on the MoEF notice but the project will go ahead”.
Bansal also clarified that Supreme Court has not yet granted stay on the project, although the Orissa government had made a appeal against the centre’s decision to stop the project.
He also reiterated that Pollavaram project was cleared after the Orissa government and the then Madhya Pradesh government now in the part of Chhattisgarh had cleared the project.
The pitched battle between the Centre and the Orissa government over the Rs 10,000- crore controversial Polavaram project has taken a combative turn.
The Chief Minister had also placed the concerns of Orissa pertaining to the inundation of tribal villages due to the Polavaram before the Prime Minister.
The state government is sore over the Centre’s decision to grant clearance for the project without consulting it.
It may be noted that Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling UPA government at the Centre, had assured the Andhra Pradesh government to accord a national status for the project
