Mention of Machkund project in AP triggers row in Odisha

Visakhapatnam: A major goof-up committed by the Odisha Board of Secondary Education in the textbook of Class X mentioning the location of the Machkund Hydro Power Project in Andhra Pradesh has left the officials of the neighbouring State red-faced.

It is mentioned on page No. 69 of the Geography book in a chapter on hydropower projects that the Machkund project is in Andhra Pradesh. Following criticism in various quarters and as part of a fire-fighting mission, senior officials were rushed to the project site in the Bonda-dominated Lamtaput area of Koraput district. Ironically, this has been mentioned in the textbook published in 2018 and the error remained unchanged even in the revised version of the textbook.

School and Mass Education Minister of Odisha Samir Ranjan Das admitted a typo error in the textbook and said correction is pending, the teachers have been advised to teach the correct version. The mistake came to light after a teacher pointed out the factual distortion on the location of the project sometime ago.

The dam was built during British Rule. The Machkund river-a tributary of Godavari river, flows through Koraput district, which shares its boundary with the undivided Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh. It has six units with a total generation capacity of 120 MW.

The Machkund Hydro Electric Project is built over Duduma Waterfalls and located on the western slopes of Eastern Ghats. Set up as a joint venture with an investment of Rs 18 crore, Odisha's share in the project was Rs 6 crore. It went on steam in 1955. AP Genco and Orissa Hydro Power Generation Corporation maintain it. Power, which used to be shared on a 70:30 ratio since inception, is shared equally as per an Inter-State Agreement signed in 2008. It has also been agreed to modernise the project to enhance its production.

Machkund as well as other projects including Polavaram and Jhanjhavati are inter-State disputes over resettlement and rehabilitation issues. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha also have long-pending claims over boundaries of Kotia Group of Villages as both States have issued ration cards, voters' cards as well as benefits under various government schemes to the tribals living in the Kotia Group of Villages.

Though the idea of building a dam over Machkund river was mooted by the late rulers of Jeypore Kingdom in 1930s, the construction was taken up in 1945. The power project became fully operational in 1955. Now both Odisha and AP share power equally. The power generated from the project is supplied to Koraput and Jeypore in Odisha and Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.