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Civil rights organisation Human Rights Forum (HRF) has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to revoke all clearances granted for the 900 MW Open Loop Pumped Storage Hydro Power Project (PSP) proposed by Adani Green Energy Limited at Raiwada in Anakapalli district and Vepada in Vizianagaram district. Following a fact-finding visit to the affected areas, HRF warned that the project would jeopardise the livelihoods of tribal residents and damage the local ecology.
In January 2023, the previous YSR Congress Party government approved 1,600 MW of PSP projects for Adani Green Energy – 1,000 MW at Pedakota in Alluri Seetharama Raju district and 600 MW at Raiwada. On June 30 this year, the TDP-led government increased capacities to 1,800 MW at Pedakota and 900 MW at Raiwada. It also expanded water allocation for the projects through Government Order (GO) MS No. 51 – raising Raiwada’s one-time water draw from 9 MCM to 23 MCM and its annual recoupment from 0.36 MCM to 3.70 MCM.
The PSP has faced opposition from tribal residents and Left parties since its announcement last year, primarily over the diversion of water from the Raiwada reservoir. The HRF urged the government to withdraw the GO after visiting villages in Devarapalli and Vepada mandals between July 26 and August 6.
“Diverting this scarce, life-sustaining resource for a PSP would endanger livelihoods, agriculture and drinking water security across the region and is wholly unacceptable,” HRF said in its statement on August 11.
In July, the government scrapped two other PSP projects – the 1,200 MW Kurukutti and 1,000 MW Karrivalasa plants – after Adani Green Energy withdrew citing “local issues.”
The Raiwada PSP would have a lower reservoir near Sammeda village in Chintalapudi panchayat, Devarapalli mandal, and an upper reservoir at Marika village in Karakavalasa panchayat, Vepada mandal. HRF estimates the project would require acquiring about 550 acres of fertile land in Chintalapudi and 214 acres in Marika.
“This would dispossess Adivasis of their ancestral lands and threaten the local ecology,” the HRF said.
While much of the land does not fall under the Fifth Schedule protections, these are predominantly tribal villages with a long-pending demand for inclusion in the state’s Scheduled Area, said HRF Coordination Committee member VS Krishna.
Krishna added that residents were largely opposed to the PSP, and the increased water allocation would hit both local livelihoods and Visakhapatnam’s drinking water supply. The water would be drawn directly from the Sarada river catchment, which feeds the Raiwada reservoir – a source serving over 15,344 acres of ayacut in 44 villages across Anakapalli district, and a crucial drinking water supply for Visakhapatnam city.
The 213.08 acres designated for the upper reservoir lie within the Marika reserve forest, which would mean the physical displacement of all 103 Adivasi households – 76 Konda Dora families and 27 Kondh families (a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group) – wiping out their homes, lands, forest access and cultural heritage, HRF said.
