ROURKELA: The Odisha state government has decided to halt the diversion of forest land intended for a proposed irrigation dam on the Ib River, located at Katingidihi in Sundargarh district, amidst ongoing protests from local residents.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi announced this decision in the Assembly while addressing a query from Rajgangpur MLA C S Raazen Ekka from the Congress party. Ekka had inquired about the current status of the project and whether the government was aware of claims that the necessary Gram Sabha approval had not been secured.
This pause follows intervention from the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST), which has begun an investigation into allegations regarding the infringement of rights and the potential mass displacement of residents.
The NCST’s inquiry was triggered by a petition from Panchanan Naik, the president of the Jugi Jugen Bandha Sangram Samiti (JJBSS), submitted on August 17. In a subsequent letter dated September 14, the commission instructed the chief secretary, the principal secretary of the Water Resources department, and the Sundargarh collector to provide a comprehensive report within 10 days.
Earlier this year, the Ib investigation division within the Water Resources department had renewed activities related to surveys and other preparatory steps for the dam project. However, this led to an escalation in local opposition, with villagers mounting numerous protests over the last four months, accusing the division of providing misleading information regarding the project’s status.
In his petition, Naik highlighted that the proposed Katingidihi dam would completely inundate 10 villages and partially flood 22 others, impacting over 40,000 individuals in the Talsara Assembly constituency. He has called for the project to be relocated to Telijore, arguing that this would significantly lessen the displacement burden, as seven villages with around 4,000 residents would be affected either fully or partially.
The Katingidihi site, surrounded by the Jugi Jugen hills, aims to irrigate approximately 106,000 hectares across Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, and Sambalpur districts. In contrast, an alternative location upstream on the Ib River at Telijore in the Balishankara block is anticipated to irrigate about 82,000 hectares. However, the government has reportedly not pursued the Telijore site due to concerns regarding broader inter-state implications involving Chhattisgarh.
