Minister of State for Environment and Forests (Independent Charge) Jairam Ramesh on Monday stated that environmental clearance to the Indira Sagar Project (Polavaram Multipurpose Project) in Andhra Pradesh was granted on 10 October 2005 after following the due procedure as under the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 1994.
In a written reply to a question posed by KVP Ramachandra Rao in the Rajya Sabha, Ramesh stated that the state government had proposed the construction of embankments on river Sileru and Saberi in Chhattisgarh and Orissa to avoid submergence in these states, which were not considered during the grant of the Environmental Clearance in 2005.
The construction of embankments in Orissa and Chhattisgarh requires public hearing under the provisions of the Environment Impact Assessment Notification, 2006.
Public hearings have not been conducted in Orissa and Chattisgarh because the governments of these states have objected to a construction of the Indira Sagar Project, he stated.