Polavaram Project
Encyclopedia
Polavaram Project is a multi-purpose irrigation
project across the Godavari River
in India
.
, was designed to overcome the deficit in water in the country. As a part of this plan, surplus water from the Himalayan
rivers is to be transferred to the peninsular rivers of India. This exercise, with a combined network of 30 river-links and a total length of 14900 kilometres (9,258.5 mi) at an estimated cost of US$
120 billion (in 1999), would be the largest ever infrastructure project in the world. In this project's case, the Godavari River
basin is considered as a surplus one, while the Krishna River
basin is considered to be a deficit one. As of 2008, 644 tmcft
of underutilized water from Godavari River flowed into the Bay of Bengal
. Based on the estimated water requirements in 2025, the Central Water Commission recommended that sizable surplus water was to be transferred from the Godavari River basin to the Krishna River basin. The project intends to use the diverted water for not only to benefit a cultivated command area of 175000 hectares (432,434 acre), but also to supply water to coastal city of Visakhapatnam
for domestic and industrial purposes through a 208 kilometres (129.2 mi) long canal.
. Later Diwan Bahadur
L. Venkata Krishna Iyer, then chief engineer in the Presidency's irrigation department, made the first survey of the project site and made a definitive proposal for a reservoir at Polavaram. The full reservoir level was proposed to be at 150 feet (45.7 m) and the approximate water storage was 1000000000 cubic feet (28,316,847 m³). Iyer not only visioned cultivation of 350000 acres (141,640.1 ha) over two crop seasons through this project, but also planned for a 40 megawatt hydroelectric plant within the project. The entire project was estimated to cost about . By 1946-47, the estimated cost rose to 129 crore. Due to additional enhancements to the project, the estimate of project in 2004 stood at 8,621 crore.
In 1980, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh T. Anjaiah laid the foundation stone for the project. However the project stayed idle until 2004 when the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
-led government came to power. In 2004, the Government of Andhra Pradesh
sanctioned for the project. Soon after, tenders
were issued for the commensurate worth of services for the right canal of the project. For the left canal, another 1,353 crore were sanctioned by the state government.
thereby enabling irrigation of an additional 232,000 acre in Krishna
, West Godavari
, East Godavari
, Visakhapatnam
, Vizianagaram
and Srikakulam
districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The project would constitute an earth-cum-rock fill dam of 2310 metres (7,578.7 ft) length, spillway of 907 metres (2,975.7 ft) with 44 vents to enable discharge of 360000 cuft/s of water. To its left, 12 water turbines, each having 80 megawatt capacity, were to be installed. The right canal (173 kilometres (107.5 mi) long) discharges 17500 cuft/s and left canal (182 kilometres (113.1 mi) long) discharges 17500 cuft/s of water.
. Tribals constitute 50% of such a displaced population. Human rights
activists came out against the project because of these reasons. In addition, one activist pointed out that this interlinking of the rivers will harm the interests of the Telangana
and Rayalaseema
regions of the state. Environmental activist Medha Patkar
said that the project not only will displace several thousands of families, it will also submerge several archeological sites, coal deposits, a wildlife sanctuary and several hectares of farm land.
Sixty-four years after the initial conception of the project, the Government of Andhra Pradesh
secured the environmental clearance from the central agency in 2005. This clearance was obtained after the state government prepared a 4,500 crore forest management plan and rehabilitation and resettlement proposal covering 59,756 hectares that were being lost under the project. In addition, 40,000 was to be allotted for each dwelling to be constructed for the displaced as against 25,000 provided by other states. Despite this clearance, the project faced political roadblocks. The Communist Party of India (M) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi
were troubled with the issue of submerging agricultural lands and the detriment to Telangana, respectively.
Meanwhile, work on the project began in April 2006 and was expected to be completed by February 2007. After 30% work of excavation work on the canals and 15% of the spillway works had been completed, the work was halted in May 2006 to seek clearance from the Ministry of Forests and Environment.
The neighboring state of Orissa
also expressed its concern on the submerging of its land and decided to study this together with the officials from Andhra Pradesh. In response, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
clarified that neither Orissa nor Chattisgarh would be affected by the construction. The problem continued until 2010, when Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik
remained steadfast in his demand for compensation and rehabilitation of tribals of his state who would be displaced due to the submerging of their land.
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
project across the Godavari River
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Purpose
National River-Linking Project, which works under the aegis of the Indian Ministry of Water ResourcesMinistry of Water Resources (India)
The Ministry of Water Resources, a branch of the Government of India, is the apex body for formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the development and regulation of the water resources in India. At present, head of the ministry is the Cabinet Minister Pawan...
, was designed to overcome the deficit in water in the country. As a part of this plan, surplus water from the Himalayan
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
rivers is to be transferred to the peninsular rivers of India. This exercise, with a combined network of 30 river-links and a total length of 14900 kilometres (9,258.5 mi) at an estimated cost of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
120 billion (in 1999), would be the largest ever infrastructure project in the world. In this project's case, the Godavari River
Godavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
basin is considered as a surplus one, while the Krishna River
Krishna River
The Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India, about . It is also referred to as Krishnaveni in its original nomenclature...
basin is considered to be a deficit one. As of 2008, 644 tmcft
Tmcft
Tmcft, , , , is the abbreviation for one thousand million cubic feet , commonly used in reference to volume of water in a reservoiror river flow.-Conversion:1 tmcft. is equivalent to:...
of underutilized water from Godavari River flowed into the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. Based on the estimated water requirements in 2025, the Central Water Commission recommended that sizable surplus water was to be transferred from the Godavari River basin to the Krishna River basin. The project intends to use the diverted water for not only to benefit a cultivated command area of 175000 hectares (432,434 acre), but also to supply water to coastal city of Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam is a major sea port on the south east coast of India. With a population of approximately 1.7 million, it is the second largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India after Kolkata and Chennai. According to the history, the city was...
for domestic and industrial purposes through a 208 kilometres (129.2 mi) long canal.
History
In July 1941, the first conceptual proposal for the project came from the erstwhile Madras PresidencyMadras Presidency
The Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
. Later Diwan Bahadur
Rao Bahadur
Rao Bahadur was a title of honour issued in British India to individuals who had performed great service to the nation....
L. Venkata Krishna Iyer, then chief engineer in the Presidency's irrigation department, made the first survey of the project site and made a definitive proposal for a reservoir at Polavaram. The full reservoir level was proposed to be at 150 feet (45.7 m) and the approximate water storage was 1000000000 cubic feet (28,316,847 m³). Iyer not only visioned cultivation of 350000 acres (141,640.1 ha) over two crop seasons through this project, but also planned for a 40 megawatt hydroelectric plant within the project. The entire project was estimated to cost about . By 1946-47, the estimated cost rose to 129 crore. Due to additional enhancements to the project, the estimate of project in 2004 stood at 8,621 crore.
In 1980, then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh T. Anjaiah laid the foundation stone for the project. However the project stayed idle until 2004 when the Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy , popularly known as YSR, was a two-time Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He is seen as the most popular chief minister of Andhra pradesh. His popularity is often attributed to various welfare schemes and development programs he championed for the...
-led government came to power. In 2004, the Government of Andhra Pradesh
Government of Andhra Pradesh
Government of Andhra Pradesh is the government for the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India.It is an elected government with 294 MLAs elected to the legislative assembly for a 5 year term.-Executive:...
sanctioned for the project. Soon after, tenders
Request for tender
A request for tender, commonly abbreviated to RFT, is a formal, structured invitation to suppliers for the supply of products or services. In the public sector, such a process may be required and determined in detail by law to ensure that such competition for the use of public money is open, fair...
were issued for the commensurate worth of services for the right canal of the project. For the left canal, another 1,353 crore were sanctioned by the state government.
Technical details
As of 2004, the proposed project would hold 75.2 tmcftTmcft
Tmcft, , , , is the abbreviation for one thousand million cubic feet , commonly used in reference to volume of water in a reservoiror river flow.-Conversion:1 tmcft. is equivalent to:...
thereby enabling irrigation of an additional 232,000 acre in Krishna
Krishna district
Krishna District is a district of India's Andhra Pradesh state. It is named after the Krishna River, the third longest river that flows within India, flows through the district and joins Bay of Bengal here in this district. It has a population of 4,529,009 of which 32.08% is urban as of...
, West Godavari
West Godavari
West Godavari District is one of the 23 districts of Andhra Pradesh, India. Eluru, is the district headquarter...
, East Godavari
East Godavari
East Godavari District is a district situated on the northeast of the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. Its district headquarters is Kakinada. It is the second richest district in the whole country...
, Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam district
Visakhapatnam district , also known as Visakha Zilla, is an administrative division of Andhra Pradesh, India. The administrative headquarters of the Visakhapatnam District is Visakhapatnam.-Post-Independence:...
, Vizianagaram
Vizianagaram
Vizianagaram is the main city of the Vizianagaram District of north-eastern Andhra Pradesh in southern India. Vizianagaram district was formed on 1 June 1979, with some parts carved from the neighbouring districts of Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam. It is, at present, the largest municipality of...
and Srikakulam
Srikakulam
Srikakulam is a town, municipality and headquarters of Srikakulam district in the north-eastern Andhra Pradesh, India. It is part of Srikakulam Assembly constituency and Srikakulam Parliament Constituency. Srikakulam was formerly called as Gulshanabad during Muslim rule and was headquarter of...
districts of Andhra Pradesh.
The project would constitute an earth-cum-rock fill dam of 2310 metres (7,578.7 ft) length, spillway of 907 metres (2,975.7 ft) with 44 vents to enable discharge of 360000 cuft/s of water. To its left, 12 water turbines, each having 80 megawatt capacity, were to be installed. The right canal (173 kilometres (107.5 mi) long) discharges 17500 cuft/s and left canal (182 kilometres (113.1 mi) long) discharges 17500 cuft/s of water.
Controversies
The proposed project would displace 276 villages and 44,574 families spread across three districts of Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. Tribals constitute 50% of such a displaced population. Human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
activists came out against the project because of these reasons. In addition, one activist pointed out that this interlinking of the rivers will harm the interests of the Telangana
Telangana
Telangana is a region in the present state of Andhra Pradesh, India and formerly was part of Hyderabad state which was ruled by Nizam. It is bordered with the states of Maharashtra on the north and north-west, Karnataka on the west, Chattisgarh on the north-east and Orissa to the east...
and Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema
Rayalaseema is a geographic region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. It includes the districts of Anantapur, Chittoor, Kadapa, Kurnool. These Telugu speaking districts were part of Madras Presidency until 1953 when Telugu speaking districts of Madras presidency were carved out to form...
regions of the state. Environmental activist Medha Patkar
Medha Patkar
Medha Patkar is an Indian social activist. She is known for her role in Narmada Bachao Andolan. She has also filed a public interest petition in the Bombay high court against Lavasa along with other members of National Alliance of People's Movements , including Anna Hazare.-Personal life:Medha...
said that the project not only will displace several thousands of families, it will also submerge several archeological sites, coal deposits, a wildlife sanctuary and several hectares of farm land.
Sixty-four years after the initial conception of the project, the Government of Andhra Pradesh
Government of Andhra Pradesh
Government of Andhra Pradesh is the government for the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India.It is an elected government with 294 MLAs elected to the legislative assembly for a 5 year term.-Executive:...
secured the environmental clearance from the central agency in 2005. This clearance was obtained after the state government prepared a 4,500 crore forest management plan and rehabilitation and resettlement proposal covering 59,756 hectares that were being lost under the project. In addition, 40,000 was to be allotted for each dwelling to be constructed for the displaced as against 25,000 provided by other states. Despite this clearance, the project faced political roadblocks. The Communist Party of India (M) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Telangana Rashtra Samithi
Telangana Rashtra Samithi is a regional separatist political party in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.-Ideology:Telangana Rashtra Samithi's main aim is to separate Telangana region from Andhra Pradesh and to regain regional autonomy as it existed before the formation of Andhra Pradesh...
were troubled with the issue of submerging agricultural lands and the detriment to Telangana, respectively.
Meanwhile, work on the project began in April 2006 and was expected to be completed by February 2007. After 30% work of excavation work on the canals and 15% of the spillway works had been completed, the work was halted in May 2006 to seek clearance from the Ministry of Forests and Environment.
The neighboring state of Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
also expressed its concern on the submerging of its land and decided to study this together with the officials from Andhra Pradesh. In response, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy
Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy , popularly known as YSR, was a two-time Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. He is seen as the most popular chief minister of Andhra pradesh. His popularity is often attributed to various welfare schemes and development programs he championed for the...
clarified that neither Orissa nor Chattisgarh would be affected by the construction. The problem continued until 2010, when Chief Minister of Orissa Naveen Patnaik
Naveen Patnaik
Naveen Patnaik is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Orissa, India and the chief of Biju Janata Dal, a regional political party in Orissa.-Personal life:...
remained steadfast in his demand for compensation and rehabilitation of tribals of his state who would be displaced due to the submerging of their land.