(a) Whether the Government has conducted environmental impact assessment of Polavaram dam project;
(b) if so, the details and the outcome thereof;
(c) the villages likely to be submerged and the forest land likely to be destroyed by the project, State-wise; and
(d) the present status of environmental clearance to various phases of the project?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a) & (b) Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study which is mandatory for environmental clearance (EC) was conducted in accordance with Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 1994 and accordingly an Environment Management Plan (EMP) was prepared to mitigate the impacts on catchment area, biodiversity, aquatic life, health and project affected persons among other aspects.
(c) Two hundred seventy six (276) villages in Andhra Pradesh, 4 villages in Chhattisgarh and 8 villages Odisha are likely to be submerged. An area of 3427.52 hectares of forest land only in Andhra Pradesh is projected to be inundated.
(d) Environmental clearance to the Polavaram Multipurpose project was accorded on 25.10.2005 in accordance with Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 1994.