Environmentalists in Orissa have alleged that the state government is drawing up the climate change policy under the instruction of the World Bank, while totally neglecting the stakeholders.
“The Orissa government is drawing up a climate change action plan at the behest of the World Bank. Government departments are the only ones which were invited to give their inputs for the action plan. No noted expert has been involved other than consultants deputed by the World Bank and DFID (Department for International Development). C-TRAN, the so-called knowledge partner in the action plan, is a World Bank appointee. Instead of drawing up a tough action plan, they shall obviously promote the World Bank agenda of setting up more dirty coal-fired power plants and extractive industries from where the World Bank earns almost 56 per cent of its gross revenues,” alleged noted environmentalist Biswajit Mohanty.
Environmentalist Ranjit Patnaik alleged that though the DFID has been working in Orissa for more than 25 years now, poverty in the state has only increased.
