Expressing deep concern over possible submergence of hundreds of villages in Odisha’s Malkangiri district due to Polavaram irrigation project, Opposition Biju Janata Dal on Friday took a dig at the double engine governments at the Centre and State, saying that it is insensitive towards people’s plight and warned that the party will take to the streets if the issue is not resolved by the authorities concerned.
The state government, which claims to be a people’s government, is completely insensitive towards the people of Malkangiri and Odisha, alleged Debi Prasad Mishra, Senior Vice President, BJD while briefing reporters here today.
A BJD delegation visited the would-be-affected Motu area of Malkangiri district in August 2024 and the project site of the Polavaram Dam in September 2024.
Besides, in December 2024 and August 2025, the delegation met the Union Minister for Water Resources and raised concerns regarding the would-be-affected people of Malkangiri.
The delegation also met Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram and officials of the Central Water Commission, which is executing the project, he told the reporters.
As per the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal, the flood discharge capacity was 36 lakh cusecs, the dam height was 140 feet, and the maximum flood discharge level was 150 feet, he informed.
The maximum submergence level at Konta point was 174.22 feet, where the Saberi and Sileru rivers converge. However, in 2006, the project was unilaterally revised to 50 lakh cusecs without consultation with the affected states, including Odisha, regarding its impact on submergence levels, he further stated.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has kept the “Stop Work Order” in abeyance from time to time, without conducting any public hearing by the project authorities in the affected areas within the territory of Odisha.
At this backdrop, the then BJD Government of Odisha filed writ petition in 2007 before the Supreme Court opposing the construction of the Polavaram Project, challenging various clearances granted to this project in violation of standard norms.
Odisha also filed an application for amendment of the original suit in light of the declaration of the Polavaram Project as a National Project, he maintained.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh conducted a backwater study based on the revised flood discharge capacity of 50 lakh cusecs, and the submergence level at Konta was revised to 220 feet. Subsequently, the then Government of Odisha requested IIT Roorkee to conduct a backwater study.
IIT Roorkee reported that the flood discharge capacity would be 58 lakh cusecs, and the submergence level at Konta point would reach 232 feet.
Mishra further stated that the BJD has been continuously demanding a fresh backwater study to be conducted by an independent organization with adequate technical expertise, as the project’s scope has been revised. There are no valid environmental clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for the revised project parameters. BJD has also consistently raised concerns regarding the inadequacy of the proposed Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) plans for the tribal people.
A large number of primitive tribal people and their livelihoods would be adversely affected if the project is completed without addressing their concerns. Numerous forest resources, on which these primitive and other tribal groups depend for survival will also be destroyed, charged the BJD leaders, BJD MLA Manohar Randhari said.
The BJD has raised the issue repeatedly in Parliament and posed several questions to the concerned ministers. However, no satisfactory or concrete answers have been provided, raising doubts about the project’s intent and transparency, Subhashish Khuntia, BJD MP (Rajya Sabha) informed.
“In the last 18 months, how many letters has he written to the Union Ministers for Water Resources, Tribal Affairs, and Environment, Forest and Climate Change, or to the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and the Prime Minister of India?” BJD’s Media Coordinator Priyabrata Majhi asked.
The BJD leaders concluded that if the Double Engine Government fails to resolve the issues affecting the tribals and people of Malkangiri, the Biju Janata Dal will be compelled to take to the streets to fight for their rights and justice.