State, NBA climb down on dam

BOTH SIDES involved in the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) imbroglio ? the State Government and Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) ? seem to be moving closer to a rapprochement having realised the futility of their adamant stands.

BOTH SIDES involved in the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) imbroglio – the State Government and Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) – seem to be moving closer to a rapprochement having realised the futility of their adamant stands.

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Faced with power crisis and knowing that it would get 57 per cent of the 1450-mw electricity generated via the dam, the government has set down to complete rehabilitation of 24,421 project affected family (PAF) across 177 villages at the dam’s height of 121.92 meters.

NBA has also realised that construction of the dam would not be stopped. It has toned down its aggression, especially after the May 2006 order in which Supreme Court has directed that the dam construction be continued while ensuring rehabilitation.

Fifty National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) teams, which left for affected areas on May 22 to crosscheck the Government’s claims on rehabilitation, are in the final stages of preparing reports even as SSP Relief and Rehabilitation Oversight Group comprising V S Shunglu, Prof G S Chaddha arrived here today for validation of NSSO findings.

Based on feedback from PAFs, NSSO has indicated that NBA prevented villagers from accepting compensation. In other places, oustees told NSSO about government having undertaken perfunctory survey about their houses falling under submergence.

Oversight Group and NSSO teams, which have kept Narmada Valley Development Authority and Narmada Control Authority away from their research on rehab status, are constructing their report on the statistics provided by NVDA whom the Centre held disputable and therefore pressed the former into action.