CPI submits memorandum to Central Empowered Committee

Hyderabad, July 29 (UNI) The CPI today urged the Central Empowered Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to go into aspects like environment and forest submergence due to the Polavaram Project on river Godavari.

It also urged the Committee to clear the project as it would help utilization of water going waste into the sea.

A delegation consisting of Party State Secretary Dr K Narayana, State Secretariat Member K Rama Krishna and T Lakshminarayana met the Chairman Jaya Krishna and other members of the Central Empowered Committee and submitted a memorandum.

While strongly supporting the project, the delegation suggested that the project height should be reduced to minimise the submergence of 249 tribal habitats.

They also suggested that a good relief and rehabilitation package should be prepared for those, who would be displaced due to the project.

The delegation in its memorandum said that besides utilising the surplus water of Godavari, Polavaram project would also provide drinking and irrigation water to upland areas of the parched Telangana region.

Stating that Polavaram project was an unfulfilled dream of the people of Andhra Pradesh since pre-independence days, the delegation explained that though the project was cleared by the Bachawat Tribunal which allocated 1480 TMC of Godavari water, the state was able to utilise only 700 TMC, the rest being going into the sea, as there were no other projects to utilise it.

UNI