Decision to raise height of Narmada dam a political conspiracy, is illegal: NAPM

Bhopal rally against Narmada dam

By A Representative
In a strongly-worded statement, the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) has said that the Central authorities "cannot permit drowning of two lakh population without rehabilitation". The Narmada Bachao Andolan, led by top activist Medha Patkar, is one of the NAPM's major partners. The decision to permit raising of the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam from the present height of 122 metres to the final height of 138.68 metres was taken by the Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) sub-group of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) on June 26.
"This is supposed to have been done on the basis of the reports by the four states, including Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, confirming, that ‘rehabilitation is complete’", NAPM said, adding, :"All this is absolutely unbelievable and unacceptable since there are more than 40,000 families in the 245 villages in the submergence area spread across three states, but the maximum (193) are in Madhya Pradesh alone", the statement said.
"There are at least 4,000 families in MP and about 1,000 in Maharashtra who are yet to receive alternative agricultural land as per the eligibility. Thousands of landless, including agricultural labourers, fish workers, potters and other artisans, are yet to get an alternative source of livelihood as per the state policy and the action plan, endorsed by the Supreme Court. Those at the resettlement site in Gujarat or Maharashtra or at a very small percentage in MP are certainly not rehabilitated, till date, as there are hundreds of families without full land, as per entitlement or amenities, yet to be attained", the statement pointed out.
NAPM alleged a "huge corruption through a massive scandal of about Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 crores, misappropriated by MP officials and agents in rehabilitation", saying the whole matter is "under inquiry, by the Justice Jha Commission, appointed by the High Court for the past 5 years. There is no way that MP can approve the fake rehabilitation. MP has allotted land to only 21 families till date, that too in the past two months, while 4,000 plus families remain to attain their due, many of whom are cheated through fake land registries."
Pointing out that "these include hilly adivasis habited in Satpuda and Vindhya ranges, who are to be taken special care of as per the policy and judgements", the statment said, "Maharashtra is still searching and locating land to establish R&R sites, and Gujarat’s oustees are awaiting declaration for the allotment of land and/ or amenities in the original villages as well as resettlement sites.""
Quoting the Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal (NWDT) award and the Supreme Court’s judgements, (1991, 2000, 2002, 2005), the statement said, "The last interim order has clearly directed full and fair implementation of the NWDT award. This is being violated once again.Flooding the villages, where life is on with pucca houses, shops, markets, schools, temples and mosques and lakhs of trees will be a gross injustice, against law and contempt of court."
The statement further said, "The Prime Minister himself had given a written commitment to the Apex Court on April 17, 2006, that all the families up to 122 had not been not been rehabilitated, He had added, rehabilitation would be completed within three months i.e. by June 2006. The same has not yet happened and hence there could be no permission granted for further work at the dam."
Moreover, the statement said, "not one, but many committees of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the latest one chaired by Devendra Pandey have clearly concluded, based on the documents and data, that almost all the conditions in the environmental clearance are not fulfilled, but violated. Be it Gujarat on the non-compliance of command area development plans, or Maharashtra and MP, targets and plans on protective/ preventive measures, compensatory afforestation, health measures for all the three states are still awaited."
Saying that "political expediency" was the main reason for allowing the dam to be raised. the statement said, "Narendra Modi for the last last few months has been raising SSP issues publicly to blame or challenge the UPA government, which is succumbing to these pressures unnecessarily and unjustifiably. When Gujarat doesn’t have its canal network ready and not built beyond 25-30 per cent over the last 30 years, what is the need to raise the height and fill more water to drown the valley?"
It wondered, "Why can’t the MoEF and the Narmada Control Authority under the Ministry of Water Resources compel Gujarat to complete execution of all environmental measures and building of canal network phase-wise and thereby utilize the already ponded waters?"

Comments

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan* An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

Health Day ads spark row as NAPi targets Britannia campaign, criticizes celebrity endorsement

By A Representative The advocacy group Nutrition Advocacy in Public Interest (NAPi) has raised concerns over what it describes as misleading advertising of ultra-processed food products (UPFs), particularly those high in sugar, fat and salt, calling for stricter regulations and an end to such promotions across media platforms.

Search This Blog