Union environment ministry extends Polavaram project by two years

New Delhi: The Union environment ministry on Wednesday extended the construction period for the Polavaram Multipurpose Project by two years.

Addressing the media at the Parliament complex, Union minister for environment, forest and climate change Prakash Javadekar said the two-year construction order was signed on Wednesday.

In 2011, the then Union government had asked the Andhra Pradesh government to stop Polavaram construction. In 2014, the NDA government declared Polavaram a national project and the ministry kept the 'stop work order' in abeyance to allow construction work.

The 'Stop Work Order' was kept in abeyance six times for a year each time, the ministry said in a statement.

"Considering the immense importance of the project, the ministry is keeping the 'stop work order' in abeyance to allow the construction for two years without

permission to impound water," a ministry source said.