Latest news with #PFR
The Hindu
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Telangana urges MoJS Secretary not to take up appraisal of PBLP
HYDERABAD The Telangana government has requested the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) not to undertake appraisal of pre-feasibility report of the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project (PBLP) since it is in violation of the Godavari Water Disputes Tribunal Award, Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and Polavaram Project Authority, infringing upon the water rights of Telangana. When the Environmental Clearance granted to the Polavaram project itself has issues of violation and a case is pending in the Supreme Court, which had directed the Centre on September 6, 2022 to address the issues by calling for a meeting of all the stakeholders, it would not be in the interests of natural justice if appraisal of PBLP is taken up, Principal Secretary (Irrigation) of Telangana Rahul Bojja said in a five-page letter addressed to the MoJS Secretary Debashree Mukherjee. He noted that Telangana Minister for Irrigation Uttam Kumar Redddy had requested Union Minister of Jal Shakti to direct the Central Water Commission to reject the PFR under review and also objected to the stand of Additional Secretary, Ministry of Finance, at the June 2 meeting with the AP officials to submit the detailed project report. Mr. Uttam Reddy also wrote to the Minister of Environment and Forests not to take up the appraisal of PBLP. Besides, letters were also addressed by authorities of the Irrigation Department to MoEF and PPA. Listing out the comments of Telangana on the PFR, the Principal Secretary stated that PBLP contemplates stabilisation of 9.14 lakh hectares (nearly 22.59 lakh acres) and new ayacut of another 3 lakh hectares (over 7.41 lakh acres), all in the Krishna and Penna Basins in Rayalaseema and South Coastal Andhra regions. He brought to the MoJS Secretary's notice that there is no clause in the GWDT Award for allocating floodwater among the basin States. Further, he noted, it is explicitly stated that if there is to be any change in the operation schedule as indicated in the inter-State agreement it shall be made only after consultation with the States of erstwhile AP (now Telangana), Chhattisgarh and Odisha, as the PBLP contemplates diversion of 200 tmcft water from Polavaram project and it would require changes in the operation protocol of the project – changes scope of the project too.
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Arunachal CM pushes for local consensus on Siang Upper Multipurpose Project
Itanagar, Jul 21 (PTI) Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday underscored the importance of local people's participation in the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP). He told officials to ensure that indigenous voices are integrated into every stage of the hydropower initiative. Chairing a high-level review meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, chief secretary Manish Kumar Gupta, and senior officers from the hydro power development department at the civil secretariat here, Khandu said, 'Their (indigenous) feedback must be duly considered at every stage." The statement comes amid growing signs of local acceptance for the controversial project, with villagers from Riga and Pangkang (Kumku) recently signing MoUs in support of a Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. The chief minister expressed satisfaction over reports that villagers from the project-affected areas are coming forward to support the preparation of the PFR, terming it a positive development for participatory hydropower planning. The SUMP is a proposed 11,000 MW run-of-the-river hydroelectric project on the Siang River, one of the major tributaries of the Brahmaputra. Originally conceived by NHPC in 2009, it is envisioned not just as a power generator but also a critical tool for irrigation and flood moderation. The reservoir, if built to full scale, would be among the largest in the country, with a storage capacity of nearly 9 billion cubic metres. PTI COR UPL UPL RG view comments First Published: July 21, 2025, 20:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Wire
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
More Protests Break Out Against Proposed Siang Dam in Arunachal Pradesh
New Delhi: On Monday, July 14, villagers from three districts in Arunachal Pradesh participated in a rally at the village of Geku in Upper Siang, taking out a peaceful march against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, a nearly 12,000-megawatt hydropower project that is being mooted across the Siang river in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh. Local communities have been agitating against the hydropower project and dam – being implemented by the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) – for several years now, fearing displacement from their ancestral lands which they associate culturally with, and the environmental impacts that the dam could cause in the area. Videos of the rally showed at least a thousand people gathered at a ground in Geku and later undertaking a protest march through village roads, shouting slogans such as 'We want justice', 'Remove the armed forces', 'No dam, no PFR' and ' Bharat mata ki jai '. The peaceful march occurred in the presence of police and armed forces deployment in the area. Protests against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project. Photo: By arrangement In a letter dated July 14 to P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF) – on behalf of the Project Affected Families (PAFs) and residents of all submergence villages – expressed their 'strong opposition' to the project as well as the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) activities that the government was conducting without peoples' consent. The letter said that claims made by Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, on his official Facebook and Twitter accounts, suggesting that the villagers of Riga have given their consent, 'are factually incorrect' and that the village and tribal council had not given their consent, and that no public meeting was at the village by any concerned authority. 'We are deeply concerned about the ongoing human rights violations and the lack of effective grievance redressal mechanisms for the affected communities. Despite our repeated efforts, the concerns of the submergence villages have not been adequately addressed by the state authorities. Instead, a false narrative, propagated by the Hon'ble Chief Minister and other MLAs such as Shri Ojing Tasing, portrays a misleading picture of community support for the project,' the letter claimed. It urged the principal secretary to 'present the accurate ground reality to the Prime Minister', including the 'widespread opposition' to the project at the meeting being conducted on Tuesday, July 15. 'We sincerely hope that the concerns of the PAFs and submergence villages will be prioritized, and that no decisions will be taken based on misleading representations,' it urged. Another letter by the Youth Wing of the SIFF to the principal secretary, on July 14, highlighted that people are on an 'indefinite peaceful protest' against the deployment of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for the PFR of the project. Condemning the 'unconstitutional practice', the letter added that they, the Adi people of Siang, 'do not want to dam our Aane Siang [the big Siang river] nor be displaced from our motherland'. The Adi are one of the major tribal communities who live in the area where the Siang dam is proposed. The letter urged that the project proposal be cancelled and all activities linked to the project, 'We shall continue protesting until our demand is fulfilled,' it stated. Villagers protesting against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, Uppar Siang, Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: By arrangement Since May 23 this year, villagers have been on an indefinite protest against the deployment of armed forces in the area to implement the first phase of the project – a study for pre-feasibility report – at the village. Protesters also burnt down a hanging bridge to prevent the army from entering the village, as The Wire reported earlier. Apart from concerns like displacement, loss of homes and agricultural lands, as well as the environmental impacts such as the loss of rich biodiversity, the Upper Siang project – set to be India's largest hydropower project, if built – is also proposed in a seismically-active area.
New Indian Express
05-07-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
CWC seeks detailed data on Andhra's water projects
VIJAYAWADA: Based on the Pre-Feasibility Report (PFR) of the Polavaram-Banakacherla Link Project submitted by the Andhra Pradesh government, the Central Water Commission (CWC) has asked the State government to provide the salient features of all water resources projects in Andhra Pradesh-whether approved or unapproved, under construction, or completed-along with their planned water utilisation. The CWC also requested that the project authorities indicate the dependability on which these projects have been planned. Other requirements from the CWC include an index map showing the location of existing, under-construction, and proposed/planned projects in Andhra Pradesh. As per the Guidelines for Preparation of Detailed Project Report of Irrigation and Multipurpose Projects 2010, the minimum success rate recommended by the erstwhile Planning Commission for an irrigation project to be considered viable is 75%. 'In view of this, the dependability of the proposed diversion water (200 TMC) may be computed, after accounting for the utilisation (existing, under construction and planned) and allocation as per GWDT of co-basin states including AP.
The Print
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Telangana would continuously pursue with Centre to safeguard its water rights: CM
Claiming that the river-linking project hurts Telangana's share of water in the Godavari river, the Telangana government had earlier urged the Centre to reject the PFR. Speaking at a power-point presentation made to ruling Congress MLAs, and other leaders on the Godavari-Banakacharla river-linking proposed by neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, he said the Union Environment Ministry reportedly rejecting the pre-feasibility report (PFR) of the project submitted by the Andhra government is not a permanent solution for Telangana. Hyderabad, Jul 1 (PTI) Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Tuesday said the state government would consistently pursue and 'mount pressure' on the Centre to safeguard its rights in river waters, even as he alleged that the BJP is indirectly trying to revive the BRS to marginalise the Congress. 'Don't think the rejection of PFR is any solution (for Telangana). It's not a full stop (to the issue), it's only a comma,' Reddy said. Telangana's interests would be protected only when its share of water is decided and allocations of water are made, he said. He also alleged that the Centre is not addressing the river water-sharing issues. It was the previous BRS government and former CM K Chandrasekhar Rao who caused the problem of Andhra proposing the river-linking project as the latter had said that 3,000 TMC of Godavari water is draining into the sea every year, he alleged. The BRS, after losing power, is now trying to gain political mileage by alleging that the Congress government is silent on Andhra's river-linking project, Reddy said. 'We have to continuously put pressure on the Centre to ensure our rights and water allocations. That's our agenda. The BRS is a dead snake. 'The BJP has been negligent over our water allocations. The BJP is indirectly trying to revive KCR. Union Minister Kishan Reddy is playing a major role in this,' he said. PTI SJR MNK MNK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
