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DAM-L more on Supreme Court decisin re SSP/Narmada

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Subject: more fromBBC on Narmada
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>From the article at:

http://news6.thdo.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/south_asia/newsid_978000/978064.stm

BBC News Online: World: South Asia 


Wednesday, 18 October, 2000, 12:41 GMT 13:41 UK 

Go-ahead for India dam project


                                       
India's Supreme Court has given approval for work to continue on a highly controversial dam project in the western state of
Gujarat. 

The court decided by a majority of 2-1 that the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river could be built to a height of 90m - it
is currently 88m high. 

                    
The dam has been at the centre of a heated debate for years involving, among others, the prize-winning author Arundhati Roy. 

The government says the dam will boost development across a large part of western and central India. 

Protesters argue that the supposed benefits do not justify the displacement of thousands of families in the area. 

Divided 

One Supreme Court judge wanted all construction activities at the dam site to stop so that a detailed environmental survey could
be carried out. 



It is an unfortunate judgement and it will have serious repercussions in the Narmada Valley. 
Save the Narmada Movement lawyer Prashant Bushan 

However, his two colleagues said work to raise the dam by a further two metres could start immediately as they were satisfied
by the relief and rehabilitation measures taken by the state authorities. 

However, they said that raising the dam beyond 90m to its envisaged maximum height of 130m would require clearance from an
environmental authority appointed to undertake the task. 

A lawyer for the Save the Narmada Movement (Narmada Bachao Andolan), Prashant Bhushan, said he was "amazed" by the
judgement. 

The Sardar Sarovar dam is one of a whole series planned for the Narmada River, which have become the focus in recent of
many of the concerns about big dam proejcts. 

Dam project 

Apart from the Sardar Sarovar project on the eastern edge of Gujarat, another huge dam called the Narmada Sagar is to be
built in the state of Madhya Pradesh. 

At least 30 large dams, 135 medium ones and nearly 3,000 small dams, used to channel water into thousands of miles of
irrigation canals, are to be built. 

Protesters have been demanding that the authorities stop further construction work at the dams because of what they say is the
failure to address the rehabilitation needs of local people, whose villages will be flooded. 

However, those who support the dam system say that it will provide large amounts of water and electricity that are needed for
development and that it would particularly benefit drought-prone areas of Gujurat state. 

Related to this story:
Author released after dam protest (12 Jan 00 | South Asia) 'Rally for the Valley' (01 Aug 99 | South Asia) Narmada: A history
of controversy (29 Jul 99 | South Asia) Narmada: The threat to local villages (29 Jul 99 | South Asia) Top novelist funds
anti-dam campaign (26 Jun 99 | South Asia) Sardar Sarovar dam: At what price progress? (23 Mar 98 | Water Week) 


Internet links: Arundhati Roy writes about the Narmada valley | Friends of the Narmada River | Environmental Defence Fund
on the Sardar Sarovar Dam | International Rivers Network | Gujarat Chief Minister | 
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