Bhubaneswar, Sep 9 - A former Orissa legislator Wednesday filed a petition in the Orissa High Court for contempt proceedings against several officials for allegedly pushing a mega irrigation project in Andhra Pradesh in violation of the court's order.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Laxaman Munda has sought contempt proceedings against the secretary of the environment and forests ministry, the Central Water Commission chairman, and the principal secretary, the chief secretary and four other officials of Andhra Pradesh, his lawyer Bibhu Prasad Tripathy told IANS here.

The high court on March 22, 2006, had directed authorities to proceed with the construction of the Indira Sagar Polavaram multipurpose irrigation project after complying with all requirements, the lawyer said.

The court had said that the plan should be implemented in such a manner that no land or village within the Orissa territory gets submerged, he said.

However, the central government officials approved the project allegedly without complying with the court's directive, declared it a national project and now Andhra Pradesh is moving ahead with construction activities, Tripathy said.

Although the project will affect parts of the neighboring states of Chhattisgarh and Orissa, there is no specific information about these impacts nor has there been a public hearing in either of the states, Tripathy said.