BJD Fact-Finding Team Submits Its Report on Polavarm Project Impact To Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: The “fact-finding” team of the BJD that reviewed the possible impact of the Polavaram project in adjoining Andhra Pradesh on south Odisha districts, handed over its report to the BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik.

This fact-finding team was headed by former state minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak. The team made ground level observations in Motu and Padia tehsils of Malkangiri district in Odisha to assess the possible impact of the Polavaram project on the district.

According to sources, the report has highlighted the fact that the inhabitants of the Motu and Padia blocks are facing a grave threat to their lives, livelihoods, and cultural heritage due to the potential submergence caused by the Polavaram project.

The people in the region fear that they may have to leave their homeland due to the Polavaram project that received budgetary allocation by the central government. The project is to be completed by February 2026. According to the BJD report, the project is expected to affect around 200 villages in the Motu and Podia blocks.

The Polavaram project was launched by the then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Neelam Sanjeev Reddy in 1961. This project is on the Godavari river in Polavaram mandala of Andhra Pradesh’s Eluru district. It aims to irrigate over 4.3 lakh hectares of land and generate 960 MQ of hydroelectricity.