Express News Services

March 24, 2005

States told to extend benefits to PAFs irrespective of status.

Gandhinagar: Despite the Gujarat government’s claim to take the Sardar Sarovar dam height to 121 metres before the monsoons, construction work on the dam is likely to be delayed. For, the recent directive by the Supreme Court has asked the participatory states to extend benefits to project-affected families (PAFs) irrespective of their status as temporarily or permanently affected by the dam. Apparently panic-stricken after the SC order, the state government on Wednesday rushed four of its senior officials to Delhi and Madhya Pradesh to assess the situation and ensure that the rehabilitation and resettlement programmes are completed in the neighbouring state at the earliest. While executive director (SSNNL) I.P. Gautam and his senior colleague S.J. Desai airdashed to Delhi to meet officials in the Union Water Resources Ministry, Principal Secretary (Rehabilitation) A.K. Sinha and Rehabilitation Commissioner M.S. Dagur left for MP. According to a senior SSNNL official, MP would have to rehabilitate over 5,000 more PAFs to facilitate Gujarat to take the SSP dam height to 121 metres. And for this, Gujarat would have to bear an additional burden of about Rs 900 crore. The official said MP, Maharashtra and Gujarat have already submitted to the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) the action taken reports on rehabilitation of PAFs of their respective states. Even the NCA’s environmental group has okayed Gujarat’s proposal to raise the dam height. “Our government could have avoided this predicament had it tried to have an early meeting with the NCA and obtain its nod to raise the dam height before the Narmada Bachao Andolan moved an application in the apex court,” an official said.

Allowing the NBA’s application, the SC had passed the order last week. The development is being seen as “yet another blow” to the state government, especially CM Narendra Modi, who is already facing dissidence from among his own party MLAs. In fact, the dissident camp led by former CM Keshubhai Patel has been accusing Modi of making
hollow announcements on providing Narmada waters to towns and villages.