Jolt for Odisha! Supreme Court rejects stay on Polavaram project work

Bhubaneswar: In a major setback to Odisha, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected Odisha government’s plea to stop the ongoing work on the controversial Polavaram dam on the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh.

The court directed the state government to seek necessary information regarding public hearing and terms of the condition relating to the project from the Centre.

A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Madan B Lokur, while hearing the plea, refused to order a stay on the controversial project and directed the Centre to ask Odisha and Chhattisgarh governments to submit complete details about the exact amount of areas which would be submerged due to the project.

Besides, the SC asked the Centre to hold public hearings with the people affected by the dam project in both the states. The public hearing will discuss issues on the matters relating to submergence of land, compensation and rehabilitation package.

The court scheduled the next hearing of the case to the first week of January.