Bhubaneswar, June 1: Controversy over the Polavaram multipurpose project in Andhra Pradesh today gathered momentum with chief minister Naveen Patnaik urging deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, not to grant revised investment clearance to the project.

In a letter to Ahluwalia, Naveen said various clearances accorded to the Polavaram project (Indira Sagar Project) were either in violation of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT) award or not conforming to national standards.

The technical advisory committee clearance to the project were given by the central water commission without examining whether the project was in accordance with the GWDT award and without thorough technical scrutiny of the project report, the letter says.

The ministry of environment and forests granted environmental clearance to this project on October 25, 2005. The embankments were not part of the proposal cleared by the appraisal committee of the ministry. “The stipulations given by the ministry of tribal affairs cannot be adhered to if embankments are constructed as per the proposal of Andhra Pradesh,” Naveen said. The chief minister also reminded the Planning Commission that no public hearing was conducted in the affected Malkangiri district. “Instead, the public hearing was conducted in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh,” he said.

The state government has filed a case in the Supreme Court against the technical and forest clearances accorded by central water commission and ministry of environment and forests, respectively. It has also filed an application not to declare the Polavaram project as national project. “As the matter is subjudice in the apex court, it will be prudent to wait till the judgment as project parameters and estimates may change,” said Naveen.

The multi-purpose project has soured relations between the two neighbouring states, which, in the past, have also clashed over several other inter-state river projects.