Hyderabad, June 6: Union minister of state for forests and environment Jairam Ramesh said today that the Polavaram project conceived by Andhra Pradesh government would lead to submergence of huge tracts of land and displacement of population in the Maoist-affected districts of Malkangiri in Orissa and Dantewada in Chhattisgarh.
Speaking to mediapersons in Hyderabad, Ramesh said the Andhra Pradesh government has been advised to set up an independent monitoring agency to instil confidence in the people of affected regions in its rehabilitation and relief packages for them.
The Union minister said that the Centre would be very rigid on environmental issues for all power and port projects on the coastline and such projects on the “high erosion levels” would be not be allowed and stopped. The government’s environmental decision on Posco and the Munda port projects were on the basis of high erosion levels.
He said the satellite-based imagery was being developed on the coastline of all states. “Right now we are ready with such imagery for Gujarat, Orissa and Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh, Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka will be ready by August.”
Ramesh said that all state governments were advised to get cumulative environment assessment of each power and port project before seeking approvals.
“The centre will redo and review its environment clearances based on such assessment even in projects already approved,” he said adding that all the port and power projects of Andhra Pradesh were being scrutinized on that basis.
Hyderabad has been chosen as the venue of the 11th conference of the parties for the UN convention on bio-diversity in October, 2012, in which environment leaders including prime ministers of 194 countries would participate, he said.
Ramesh was confident that no political agitation in the state would upset the prestigious convention in Hyderabad aimed at promoting bio-diversity industries the state.
“The Andhra Pradesh government has agreed to showcase its Buddhist tourist circuits besides its tribal and forest-based handicrafts on the occasion,” he said.
