No Govt decision on Narmada dam yet

      New Delhi/Ahmedabad: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) here today said that no decision has been taken on suspension of construction work at the Sardar Sarovar Project on Narmada river. PMO spokesperson Sanjaya Baru said: "The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had discussed the issue but has not taken any decision yet". "The Prime Minister is studying the report submitted by Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz," he added. Baru said there was no question of going against the Supreme Court verdict in the matter.

      The statement came after a delegation of Gujarat MPs led by senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley, and a delegation of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) led by GPCC president Bharatsinh Solanki met the Prime Minister over raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam earlier today. However, a PMO statement maintained that rehabilitation should remain a priority. Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz had submitted the report of Narmada Control Authority (NCA) review committee which met on Saturday to the Prime Minister. Soz, on Saturday, after the meeting of NCA review committee had said that the Government had put a stay on raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam for now and that the matter had been forwarded to the Prime Minister for further action. Soz had convened the NCA review committee to review the decision taken by the NCA to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam from 110.64 metres to 121.92 metres.

      Meanwhile, irked by the Centre's stand on the issue, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has gone on a 51-hour hunger strike at Sabarmati Ashram. However, following assurance from the Prime Minister that the work on raising the dam height would not be stopped, a state-wide shutdown called earlier by the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) has been called off. The matter is likely to be heard in the Supreme Court tomorrow. The Supreme Court, in its decisions on October 2000 and March 2005, had ruled that the height of dam could be increased after completion of rehabilitation arrangement in accordance with directive of the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal. However, the activists protesting against the dam alleged that the people already displaced by the project are yet to be rehabilitated properly.

     The height of the dam has been increased several times in recent years. In March 2006, the NCA gave clearance for the height of the dam to be increased from 110.64 metres to 121.92. Even, the Ministerial team, which visited rehabilitation sites in Madhya Pradesh has reportedly said in its report submitted to the Prime Minister that the complaints that rehabilitation had not been done in consonance with the orders of the Supreme Court and the Narmada Disputes Tribunal Award, were found to be correct. The Narmada authority started fresh construction on March 8 this year at the Sardar Sarovar Dam, the biggest out of the 30 large dams planned under the multi-million dollar Narmada Valley development project. But they ran into stiff opposition, led by environmental activist Medha Patkar, who has spearheaded a 20-year campaign to protect hundreds of thousands of poor farmers, whose homes and fields have been submerged or are now threatened by plans to raise the dam. On March 29, Patkar began a hunger strike that has now lasted for nearly 20 days. She was moved from a makeshift protest site at Jantar Mantar to All India Institute of Medical Science on the night of April 6. Patkar, along with her colleagues Jamsingh Bhai Nargave, Bhagwatibai has decided to continue hunger strike and has demanded that Prime Minister take a decision at the earliest.

Soz shares spotlight with Medha Patkar

        New Delhi: As the issue of Sardar Sarovar Dam's height is heating up with strong views being articulated in favour and against raising the height, one man who has received a lot of media attention in last couple of weeks is Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz. Soz has now tied himself in knots over the issue. Last week, photographs of Soz, pleading with social activist Medha Patkar with a glass of water to end her hunger-strike, occupied the front pages of most of the national newspapers. Soz assured Medha Patkar that a ministerial team would visit Madhya Pradesh to take stock of the situation. A Group of Ministers (GoM), led by Soz, visited rehabilitation sites and submergence villages in Madhya Pradesh and submitted its report. While the report has not been published, Soz said that work to raise the height of the dam is being suspended. The decision was taken in his capacity as chairman of the review committee of the Narmada Control Authority. He said in rehabilitation had not been done in as directed by the Supreme Court. There were widespread protests in Gujarat and elsewhere by Congress leaders who are keen that the work to raise the height of the dam should continue. The matter came up again before the Centre and Soz could not come to a decision. The latest word from him is that a decision has been left for the Prime Minister to take and Soz is watching the situation. Meanwhile, Medha Patkar, decides to continue her fast, and Saifuddin Soz is not seen around asking her to give up her fast.

Advani slams Govt on dam

       Hindupur (Andhra Pradesh)/New Delhi/Ahmedabad: Leader of Opposition LK Advani today accused the Central Government of creating a messy stalemate over the Sardar Sarovar Dam issue. Advani, talking to reporters this morning, said that suspending work on the mega project in which the concerned states already have invested Rs 21,000 crores in past 16 years, makes a mockery of United Progressive Alliance Government's tall talk of Bharat Nirman. He also alleged that the move to stop construction work on the dam was politically motivated. "It will be a sad day for Indian democracy if Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is forced to go on hunger strike to quench the thirst of his people," he said. Advani had talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over the issue on phone last night.

Back to Headlines                  Go To Top