Supreme Court to hear Orissa government's Polavaram plea on 4 October

The Supreme Court on Friday said it would take up the Orissa government's plea on a stay on the final clearance granted by the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) to the multi-purpose Polavaram irrigation project on river Godavari in Andhra Pradesh on 4 October.

A bench headed by Justice M K Sharma posted the state government's application challenging the ministry's decision of 28 July along with a similar plea for 4 October.

The Orissa government is seeking a stay as it contends that the project would not only submerge parts of the state but would also lead to displacement of thousands of people from their homes.

Urging the apex court to quash the clearance on grounds that it would affect the lives of thousands of people in the state due to the massive embankment under construction by Andhra Pradesh, the state has called for scrapping the project.

Meanwhile, the court wondered why it had not been informed of the in-principle clearance to the project at the last hearing of the original petition on 2 August.

The union government has not yet presented its stand on the case to the court.