Central Water Commission directs joint survey on Polavaram backwater effect

CWC held a meeting in New Delhi to discuss the effects on the backwaters of Godavari River due to the construction of Polavaram Project

Hyderabad: Following the Telangana government’s appeal to the Centre to conduct a study to observe the effects on the backwaters of Godavari River due to the construction of the Polavaram Irrigation Project in Andhra Pradesh, the Central Water Commission (CWC) directed the Andhra Pradesh government and Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) to conduct a joint survey on the effect of Polavaram backwaters.

The CWC issued an ultimatum to the PPA asking it to complete the survey at a fixed time frame and asked it to hold a meeting with the irrigation officials of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on April 10 to discuss the issue.

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Telangana, AP, Odisha and Chhattisgarh had approached the Supreme Court expressing technical objections regarding the Polavaram project, and in this context, the court ordered a consensus with all the States.

As part of this, the CWC held a meeting in New Delhi to discuss the effects on the backwaters of Godavari River due to the construction of Polavaram Project on Monday.

The views and objections of the respective States were discussed once again and CWC chairman Kushwinder Vohra directed officials to discuss the previous studies and maps prepared by both the states on flood.

In the meeting, Telangana once again strongly voiced its arguments and strongly protested that AP was deliberately delaying the survey on Polavaram project flooding.

Despite CWC instructions in the past, the AP government was coming up with its irrelative arguments and delaying the process. The Telangana government had brought the same to the notice of the CWC and sought its intervention. Telangana also asked the CWC to conduct the survey immediately in view of the upcoming rainy season.