Bhubaneswar, Dec 3 (IANS): A delegation of Opposition Biju Janata Dal on Tuesday met Union Minister of Jal Shakti C. R. Patil in New Delhi raising concerns over the multipurpose Polavaram Project in Andhra Pradesh.

The delegation was led by senior BJD leader Debi Mishra along with BJD MPs of Rajya Sabha, MLAs, former ministers of the Odisha government, former MPs and MLAs from the Malkangiri and Koraput regions of the state.

The delegation presented a memorandum apprising the Union minister about the potential submergence of large areas in the Malkangiri district due to the construction of the Polavaram Project in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh. The delegation demanded that the project should be stalled till all the concerns of the state are addressed.

“The implications of this project for the lives and livelihoods of thousands of tribal people, especially those from vulnerable and primitive tribes in Malkangiri, require urgent attention and remedial action,” the party claimed in a statement issued on Tuesday.

The delegation objected to the recent sanctioning of Rs 15,000 crore by the central government for the earliest completion of the Polavaram Project. It claimed that the project with the latest modifications in design would have a disastrous impact on the land, livelihood, and safety of the local communities, mostly tribals.

As per the statement, the Polavaram project was conceived under the resolution of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal (GWDT), which outlined agreements between Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Madhya Pradesh.

“Significant changes have been made to the original design flood discharge capacity, increasing the flood discharge from 36 lakh cusecs to 50 lakh cusecs, without sufficient consideration of the backwater impact in the upstream states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh,” alleged the BJD.

The party has also claimed that the people of Malkangiri are in fear of losing their lands and houses due to the changes in the original design of the project.

Notably, a 'fact-finding' team of the BJD headed by former minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, paid a visit in August this year to Motu and Padia tehsils of the Malkangiri district to assess the probable impact of the project on the ground.

The team has reportedly found that the residents of the 236 villages in these two blocks are facing a grave threat to their lives, livelihoods, and cultural heritage due to the potential submergence to be caused by the project.