Deshmukh's terms for Ichampally

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 23. The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh, today asserted that his Government would oppose construction of the Ichampally dam across the Godavari in Andhra Pradesh if it caused submersion of `even an inch of land' on its side.He wanted the Centre to take the initiative in convening a meeting of the riparian States - AP, Maharashtra and Chattisgarh- since the permission of other States was required under the Godavari Award before building any project.

Mr. Deshmukh did not seem particularly impressed by AP's decision to reduce the dam height from 112.7 metres to 95 metres since there was no guarantee against submersion of lands in the Sironcha area of Gadchiroli district. Moreover, the foundations for the Ichampally dam were being designed to take a load well above the 95-metre mark, he added.

Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of a national conference on self-help group movement and the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) at the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), the Chief Minister said AP must allay fears among tribals of Sironcha about heavy damage during the monsoon if the dam was built. However, his State would have no objection if these fears were allayed before the dam was built.

This would be possible through a technical evaluation of the project by engineers and officials of the three States, a suggestion he had already made to the Ministry of Water Resources. Maharashtra would have no objection if this committee came to the conclusion that there would be no submersion in the State, he said.

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Section  : Southern States
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