Polavaram: SC Refuses To Grant Stay

Refusing to grant a stay order on the construction of a Godavari river dam, which is 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 along with a few current CWC members to inspect the ongoing construction work, and has asked them to submit separate reports.

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

However, a Bench of Justices, comprising Mukundakam Sharma and A R Dave, said that it would be difficult for the Court to order a stay on the ongoing work, and appointed Gopalakrishnan, along with the current members of the CWC, to inspect the ongoing work at the dam.

The cited officials are to submit their reports by July 19th, which 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 is found to have violated 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. The senior counsel argued that once the dam is completed, the people benefiting from the project would protest, leading to chaos.

However, the Bench stated that it would examine the plea only if such a situation indeed arises.

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

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

The delay in execution of the prestigious project has increased the costs involved from Rs. 12,000 crores to Rs. 17,600 crores. (INN)