Bhubaneswar, March 25: Andhra Pradesh government’s move to construct a weir on Mahendra Tanaya, a tributary of the inter-state Vamsadhara river, and a dam on a nearby valley, today sparked an uproar in the Assembly with members urging the government to take immediate steps to stall the projects.

Sharing the concern of the House, state revenue minister Manmohan Samal said: “We will move the Supreme Court and take up the matter with the Centre if the Andhra government does not respond to our plea.”

Samal added that the water resources secretary had already written a letter to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart on March 17 seeking details of the proposed off-shore irrigation project on the Mahendra Tanaya.

He has also requested the Andhra government to stall the project until it was jointly “inspected” by engineers of both the governments.

However, the Andhra Pradesh government has not replied yet.

Since Vamsadhara is an inter-state river, it is mandatory to obtain the consent of the Central Water Commission and the co-basin state, Orissa, before beginning any construction on it.

There are 800 families living in around 30 villages under Raigarh and Gosani blocks of Gajapati district, who would be affected by the project, while 1,100 acres of agricultural land would be submerged by the project that is expected to irrigate 24,000 acres in Andhra Pradesh.