A Central fact finding committee has warned against increasing the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river in Gujarat, saying that it could lead to a calamity bigger than the earthquake in Nepal.

In consultation with Delhi Solidarity Group, the six- member Central fact finding committee, including two members each from the CPI and Congress and as many independent experts, on May 9 and 10 visited several villages in the Narmada Valley, which are affected by the Sardar Sarovar project to find out the ground situation of the project, affected families, and extent of resettlement and rehabilitation.

The committee released its report “Drowning a valley: Destroying a civilization” from Sardar Sarovar project submergence areas in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat on Saturday.

Gujarat hails decision to raise Narmada dam height, activists protest

on Thursday The political leadership in Gujarat hailed the decision to raise the Sardar Sarovar Dam height while activists opposed to the dam said concerns regarding people’s displacement had been overlooked.

“The NCA ( Narmada Control Authority) has granted approval to raise the dam height to 138 metres,” Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel said at a function in Junagadh on Thursday afternoon.

Also Read : Gujarat Govt: Rs 47,202 crore spent on Narmada project

The Gujarat government admitted before the Assembly that despite spending over Rs 47,000 crore on the entire Narmada project, canals of more than 48,000 km are yet to be constructed.

During question hour, senior Congress MLA Punja Vansh raised questions related to the pending work of the Narmada canal network.

Besides Vansh, some other Congress MLAs sought details about the expenses incurred for the project so far by the government.

On behalf of Gujarat Chief Minister who handles the Narmada department, Education Minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama replied that Rs 47,202 crore has been spent on the entire Narmada project, including the dam, till date.

Bhupendrasinh Chudasama said, Out of these expenses, Rs 5,777.6 crore has been spent on the Saradar Sarovar Dam, Rs 6,427.5 crore has been spent on the Narmada main canal and Rs 16,960 crore has been spent on the branch canal network.

The minister also admitted that canals of 48,266 km in length are yet to be constructed, including 214.3 km of branch canals, 1590.7 km of distributaries, 8656.7 km of minor canals and 27,804.7 km of sub-minor canals.

 

 

Souce: vishwagujarat