This is one of the oldest hydel projects of India, being the first post-independence major multi-purpose river valley project in the country.The dam is built across river Mahanadi at about 15 km upstream of Sambalpur town in the state of Odisha.Hirakud Dam Project is a multipurpose scheme intended for flood control, irrigation and power generation.

Puri, at one of its mouths, is a famous pilgrimage site.The river supplies several irrigation canals, mainly near Cuttack.Bending east, it enters the Odisha plains near Cuttack and enters the Bay of Bengal at False Point by several channels.Below the dam the Mahanadi turns south, piercing the Eastern Ghats through a forest-clad gorge.At Sambalpur the Hirakud Dam on the river has formed a man-made lake 35 55 km long.Its flow is augmented by the drainage of hills to the north and south.Its upper course runs north as an insignificant stream, draining the eastern Chhattisgarh Plain.It is one of the most-active silt-depositing streams in the Indian subcontinent.The river flows through the states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.It drains an area of around 141,600 square kilometres and has a total course of 858 kilometres.The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India.Odisha does not have any legislative and administrative measures regulating and prohibiting activities in the floodplain zones of the rivers in the state.There are also similar restrictions in certain Master Plans like the Revised Master Plan of Bangalore (Karnataka) restricting constructions in catchment area of the lakes.In Maharashtra, there are norms for demarcating regulatory and prohibitory zones in the floodplains of the rivers.The Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 prohibit any permanent constructions within 50 meters of the Wetlands.Uttarakhand Flood Plain Zoning Act, 2012.The 2016 notification issued by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, with respect to Ganga river, prohibits any construction in the active floodplain area of river Ganga or its tributaries.Adversely affect the river ecology and disturbed the flow of Mahanadi river.Proposed structures such as toilet, graveyard, market complex, Kalyan mandaps and other activities.

Encroachment of Kathajodi and Mahanadi rivers and construction in floodplain area may adversely affect the riverine ecology.

The Mahanadi riverbed is likely to be affected by setting up of the medical college or other permanent constructions in the floodplain of the river.

Flood plain zones need to be identified and demarcated.

There is a need to prevent irreversible damage to the riverine ecology by enforcing the applicable rules.The NGT order came in response to a petition filed to the state government’s plan of transforming the state-run SCB Medical College and Hospital into an AIIMS Plus.Context: The National Green Tribunal has formed a panel of experts to ensure that the construction of the medical college and river front development takes place without damage to the flood plains of the Mahanadi river.

2016 precipitation totals