New Delhi: Veteran BJD MP from Cuttack, Bhartruhari Mahtab Thursday has asked the Union government to intervene into the controversial Polavaram project, which he claimed had been threatening the lives of tribal population in Orissa.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Mahtab said, “I urge the Centre to intervene in this matter, because now it is a national project and, hence, it needs to be addressed by the Union government. The displacement of tribal families as well as the submergence of the fertile land needs to be addressed.”
He also said that the construction of the project has been progressing in violation of the Godavari Water Dispute Tribunal Award. Work was on without conducting any public hearing in Orissa, which, according to Mahtab, should be a mandatory requirement for getting any environment clearance. If the project is allowed to be completed before resolving the pending issues, it will cause permanent injury to the interest of Orissa and its people, he claimed.
Citing the threat faced by people in Orissa due to the project, the MP said, “The consequences of the project is great magnitude, as the people of Orissa will face submergence of the tribal land, flooding of fertile agricultural land and mass displacement. All this can be avoided only if the disputes related to the project pending before the Supreme Court are resolved.”
He even accused the Andhra Pradesh government of undertaking the project prejudicing Orissa’s interests. Mahtab said, “We are not against the project as such. We have very little quarrel with Andhra Pradesh, but the present government is actually nourishing an illegal child that was born during the UPA regime. Our concern here is that it is being constructed without addressing the legitimate concerns of Orissa.”
Mahtab said, “My only submission before this government is that all the resolutions should be settled before completion of that project and only then justice can be meted to the tribal people of Malkangiri in Orissa.”
Power transmission work needs to be expedited in Orissa: Centre
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Power and Renewable Energy RK Singh Thursday told the Lok Sabha that the pace of intra-transmission of power needs to be spiked as there were no issues with the funding part.
Singh was responding to the concerns earlier raised by BJD MP from Kendrapara Baijayant Panda over power transmission in the state. Responding to the concerns raised by Panda, Singh told the House, “There are no issues with our inter-state transmission grid. The issue lies with intra-state transmission. Now, the intra-state transmission has to be strengthened. We do not have the problem in wheeling power from anywhere to anywhere.”
The minister also added that the ministry is providing adequate money for strengthening intra-state transmission and hoped that proper utilisation of the money will help to strengthen the intra-state transmission.
“We are giving money for 33 KV feeders, for building new sub-stations and all that. The money is there. In Orissa, work is in progress. It is NTPC and Powergrid which are executing the work for the Orissa government there and they are doing it well. But I think the pace needs to pick up a bit,” he said.
Earlier, Panda said, “The problem is that our transmission grids are not capable of moving enough electricity from the surplus areas to the deficit areas. We know traditionally the Eastern Grid has had surplus and the Northern Grid has been facing deficit.”
Panda also said that to balance the availability of power and the requirement of power much more investment has to be made in the national inter-state grids and asked the government about its plans for the same.
Jena focuses on gramin dak sevaks’ plight
New Delhi: BJD MP from Balasore, Rabindra Kumar Jena Thursday raked up the issue of the plights of gramin dak sevaks in the Lok Sabha during the Zero Hour of the House.
Jena said, “There are about 1.3 lakh post offices in our country, which employ about 2.7 lakh gramin dak sevaks. They account for almost 90 per cent of the Indian postal work and generate close to 70 per cent of the revenue. But they receive the least pay.”
He also said, “Sometimes they do not even get the minimum wages. Moreover, they have zero job security. They do not get any social security. The Centre set up a committee, which submitted its final report in 2016 to address these issues. I urge upon the Centre to immediately accept the report of the committee and implement the proposal to increase their salary by 2.5 per cent.”
Jena also requested the Union government to provide the gramin dak sevaks social security and ensure that they are at least paid in accordance with the minimum wages in the country.
PNN
