After the Union Cabinet cleared the proposal for constituting the Polavaram Project Authority (PPA) for execution of the Polavaram irrigation project, Water Initiatives Odisha (WIO), an NGO working on water issues, has termed the Cabinet decision as illegal and undemocratic. WIO has alleged that the decision is a move to woo voters of Andra Pradesh and influence the election process and appealed to the Election Commission (EC) to take immediate action in this regard. The Polavaram project is yet to receive necessary legal and environmental clearances. Several cases have been pending against the project including those filed by the Chhattisgarh and Odisha governments. The Cabinet of the outgoing UPA Government has no right to take such a hasty decision at this juncture, the NGO stated in a press release. Raising doubts on the objectives of the proposed authority, WIO said the UPA Government has failed in settling the matters amicably and in a transparent manner. It has violated the laws of the land by pushing the project forcibly. However, Union Minister for Water Resources Harish Rawat had said there would be secretary-level tripartite meeting among the three stakeholders - Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh - to resolve differences and facilitate an amicable solution in April 2013. Appealing to the political parties to raise the issue, WIO said the Polavaram project is going to bring huge ecological and socio-economic destruction in Odisha. Large dams are outdated concepts and the country needs alternatives in smaller structures for power generation and irrigation which would decentralize the development and make the benefits reach larger section of the society.