CUTTACK: The stand-off over the construction of the intake well on the Mahanadi river bed for the purpose of supplying water to the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) Oil Refinery at Paradip has taken a new twist with the Orissa High Court seeking details on the land from the Government. The Court took note of the fact that the land, where the construction is being undertaken, had earlier been earmarked for implementation of a massive plantation project under an Indo-Canadian collaborative programme. The Bench comprising Justices BP Das and MM Das directed the Housing and Urban Development Secretary to provide details on the present status of the plantation project. It has sought information on the fate of the plantations, the manner of implementation, maintenance along with the funds spent in execution and the land area utilised for the purpose. It has also sought to know how the land inside the river bed, that was demarcated for the plantation and was ‘anavadi’ in nature, was allowed for construction purpose. The Court had earlier on July 29 issued a stay on the construction work of the intake well in response to a petition filed by Nationalist Lawyers’ Forum secretary Nishikanta Mishra alleging that pumping of a large volume of water from the river would have disastrous consequences on availability of drinking water and agriculture. It had also asked the DCP, Cuttack, and the Collector to visit the spot and stop construction work and submit reports on the status of the land. Filing his affidavit on Monday, Cuttack DCP Praveen Kumar informed the court that an intake well for supply of water to the IOCL Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex had been undertaken by Lanco Infra Ltd. Collector Girish SN in his affidavit stated that the seven acre land, over which the construction was being undertaken, was given to the company through IDCO in December 2009, following a decision taken by a committee headed by the Chief Secretary. The land in question was ‘anavadi’ in nature. The affidavit also mentioned that about 30 acre of land inside the river bed had been allotted to a plantation project in 1999-2000. The Court then directed for submission of details as to how the land inside the river bed was converted and leased out to an industrial unit for construction of its facilities.
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