"We are not going back only on assurances. We have submitted a proposal before the state chief minister. The ball is now in the government's court. On the one hand, they are talking of providing land to the displaced tribals and on the other, they have rehabilitated tribals without giving them land rights. Based on wrong media reports, they (the government) are trying to proceed with the construction of the dam. The manner in which they are proceeding with appears to be a political conspiracy," said Patkar.

Environmentalists have fiercely opposed the project saying millions of tribal people will be displaced and benefits flowing from the dam will be limited.

At least 40,000 families have been displaced in the reservoir area of the Sardar Sarovar.

Environmentalists say an estimated 8,500 more families will be affected if the height of the dam was increased further.

Patkar said they have submitted a rehabilitation plan to the chief minister.

The plan envisages setting up of three committees for rehabilitation purposes while another committee will be formed to look into environmental hazards.

One committee will conduct a survey of affected villages, the second will chalk out the rehabilitation programme and the third headed by the chief minister will oversee the entire project.

"As per the findings of these committees, the people who have been affected so far should first be rehabilitated. Only then should work progress. Only then will justice be said to have been carried out," said Patkar.

The Sardar Sarovar dam is the largest dam of the Narmada Valley Development Project, the country's biggest dam project.

Cleared by the Central government in 1987 the project involves the building of some 3,200 small, medium-sized and large dams on the 1,300-km Narmada river and its tributaries to generate electricity and provide water to millions of people.

The dam will benefit Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The multi-billion-rupee project is being largely financed by state governments and market borrowings after the World Bank withdrew financing in 1993, and is expected to be completed in 2025.(ANI)

Indo-UK Round Table calls for more direct flights Go to top
By Trevor Barnard

London, Apr 29 (ANI): A call for more flights between India and the United Kingdom has come from the UK-India Round Table, which has just completed its fourth meeting here in London. In a recommendation the group said that the lack of flights was "acting as a severe hindrance to business, tourism and other exchanges" and called on both governments and all airlines concerned to make every effort to increase direct flights, bearing in mind the principle of reciprocity.

The Round Table was set up two years ago with a brief to study all matters affecting bilateral relationships and to make recommendations to the two governments on how they may be enhanced. The group's members, about 12 on each side, are drawn from many walks of life, such as academia, business and the media, and, in effect, constitute a government sponsored "think- tank".

The meeting just completed was originally scheduled for last September, but was postponed because of the terrorist attacks on America. K.C. Pant, the Indian Co-chairman of the Round Table, said it was characterised by a relaxed atmosphere, compared with earlier meetings. He explained: "While at the beginning there was a tendency to speak with great caution and a certain amount of reserve, now, with the passage of time and members getting to know each other better, the discussions have become far more forthright, frank, and opinions are expressed freely."

This meeting, he said, had "culled out" the recommendations of previous meetings and had consolidated them into a new list which focussed on the practical aspects of bilateral co-operation. Apart from the call for more direct flights, he cited as an example the recommendation that the two governments should learn from each other in the field of regulation of utilities. Both countries had encountered difficulties with the functioning of regulatory bodies, he said, and should therefore share their experiences.

Pant drew attention to a recommendation encouraging British companies to invest in biotechnology in India. He said that this was an "extremely promising new sector", where co-operation at all levels could bring benefits. One level was research and development (R and D) and another the conversion of R and D results into pharmaceutical products, or other forms of genetic engineering which might have relevance to agriculture, health and other sectors.

He pointed out that even when R and D successfully developed a pharmaceutical product, the process of converting that into the final product and getting it accepted into the market was very lengthy and costly, which very few Indian companies were capable of carrying out.

The Round Table continued to support the principle of the creation of a trust fund to facilitate educational exchange, and called for a working group to be appointed to draw up proposals for its establishment and funding. It welcomed the measures introduced by the British government to allow foreign students to work during their studies and to obtain work permits after completion of their courses. It also noted the increase in the number of scholarships available to Indian students in the UK and "warmly welcomed" the increase in the funding of Chevening scholarships to 2 million pounds a year.

In general, the meeting noted "the strength and resilience of bilateral relations culminating in the New Delhi Declaration", which was signed by the two prime ministers last January. Pant called it an "important document", which, inter alia, gave a "very clear, unambiguous statement about oppostion to all forms of terrorism" and declared that "terrorism as well as the supporting structure of terrorism had to be rooted out and destroyed".

The next meeting of the Round Table is scheduled to be held in Kolkata in October. (ANI)