MP power project finally gets Jairam green signal

The ministry had passed the stop-work order in April last year following complaints that the conditions laid out in the environmental clearance to the project,mainly those related to the relief and rehabilitation of local population,were not being complied with.

At that time,22 of the 27 spillway gates of the dam had already been constructed. The Maheshwar project is slated to produce 400 MW of power annually and also serve as source of drinking water to Indore and Dewas areas.

Despite repeated representations from the state government to the Prime Minister,the ministry had refused to allow the construction to be completed,forcing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to go on a fast in February.

He had broken his fast only after assurances from the Prime Minister that his demands,which included issues other than Maheshwar as well,would be looked into.

A couple of days back,the Central Water Commission (CWC) sent a technical report to the ministry recommending that the construction of the five gates be allowed to avoid damage to the entire structure in the event of a breach of coffer dam during the monsoon floods.

“I have no option but to agree to the lifting of the stop-work order on the construction of the last five spillway gates. However,these gates shall not be lowered until satisfactory completion of relief and rehabilitation and its review. The filling up of the reservoir up to 154 metres will be considered after the relief and rehabilitation work has been completed,” Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said in his order on Friday.

Ramesh said the suggestions that his ministry did not have any locus standi in insisting on completion of relief and rehabilitation work were completely incorrect.