Gujarat govt suffers setback: Lack of environmental compliance forces NCA to "postpone" Narmada dam decision

Medha Patkar addressing Gujarat oustees

By A Representative
In a major setback to the Gujarat government, the powerful Narmada Control Authority's (NCA's) environmental sub-group has “refused to look into” the request to close the gates, currently under installation on the Sardar Sarovar dam on river Narmada. A crucial letter by an expert with the NCA to the Government of India on lack of environmental compliance is said to have played a role.
Environmentalists say, closure of the gates would take the dam's reservoir level to 138.64 metres, up from 121.92 metres, leading to “massive submergence” in the upstream. They argue, thousands of oustees still remain to be resettled, yet the agenda for the dam's closure is being pushed through.
Gujarat, projected as a model state by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, wants to project the closure of the Narmada dam as a major success, as it claims it would help irrigation 18 lakh hectares (ha) parched lands of the state, apart from providing power to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra/ The issue is now likely to be discussed at the next NCA meet, scheduled for December.
An inter-state body consisting of officials from Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan – the four states who would benefit from the dam's irrigation and power potential – the NCA, said sources, took the matter off agenda the environmental compliance in the command and submergence areas of the dam was found “not to have been completed.”
The matter was taken off agenda amidst continuing protests by the biggest anti-dam organization in the valley, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA), both in Delhi as also in the Narmada valley against the possibility of nearly 15,500 dam oustee families being “adversely affected” in case the gates are closed down. These families have not been counted in the resettlement list, argues NBA.
The development took place amidst a crucial meeting of NBA leader Medha Patkar and her colleagues with Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave, where the minister was told that the gates were sought to be closed without any environmental impact assessment and ground realities. The minister assured Patkar that he would closely examine the matter before reaching a decision.
Sources said, a report by Shekhar Singh, the non-government expert with the NCA, played a major role in the refusal of the NCA to discuss the gates closure. Singh is said to have written a strongly-worded letter to the the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC), on why the dam's gates should not allowed to be closed as of today.
“The issue was discussed in detail and the secretary MoEFCC, who is also chairman of the NCA, agreed for the need for strict compliance and the need for independently monitoring of compliance of environmental impact of the dam”, said a knowledgeable source.
The letter, it is said, insisted that the conditions laid out for environmental compliance way back in June 1987, as also details laid out in the environmental sub-group guidelines, as also the Supreme Court judgments, must be complied with before allowing closure of the 30-odd gates on the dam.
“These conditions include pari passu resettlement of the dam-affected families, as well as new issues emerging in the area such as sand mining, increased health impact because of the submergence, and so on”, the source pointed out.
The NCA environmental sub-group meeting finally eneded after deciding that the issue of the closure of the dam's gates should be taken off agenda and, it was agreed, the points raised in Singh's letter should be thoroughly examined. The next meeting is proposed for December 2016.

Comments

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

Search This Blog