Even now, approximately 42,000 km of canal is yet to be constructed because of which only 20-30% of the irrigation benefit has been achieved. According to a letter from the citizens of Gujarat to the president, an average amount of Rs 9,000 crore is annually provided for and spent, for the construction of the remaining canal network. Today, the cost of the project has sky rocketed to Rs 99,000 crore. In 1988, the Planning Commission approved the project at an estimated cost of Rs 6,400 crore. In 1983, the cost of the project was estimated at Rs 4,200 crore. Courtesy: Narmada Bachao Andolanįinancial losses incurred by the Sardar Sarovar Project The Sardar Sarovar Dam lit up ahead of the Narmada Mahotsav. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, having received no benefits of water, are getting only 56% and 27% share in electricity respectively – which is ridiculous as in the state of Madhya Pradesh alone, it has been predicted that the production of electricity will be in excess of the demand for the next 15 years. The project was accorded sanction for a canal network of 90,389 km however, the government of Gujarat talks only of a 71,748-km canal network, a decrease by 18,641 km. Out of the 17.92 lakh hectares of land to have been irrigated, only two lakh hectares have actually benefitted. In Gujarat, water is being made available to the factories of Coca Cola and Tata Nano car, to corporates like the Adani and Ambani groups, to six industrial centres, and to fill a stretch of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad – while throats and fields of farmers in Saurashtra and elsewhere remain parched. The main objective of the dam, which was to provide people with water for drinking and irrigation, has been entirely recast. Anklesaria Aiyar took care of the rest of the preparations by telling a nation of a billion people that tribal people ousted by dams will flourish and adapt in no time and with limited trauma even, as if the Narmada Bachao Andolan kept the struggle alive for 32 years when there was no injustice being perpetrated.Īlso read: On Narendra Modi’s Birthday, Will He Remember Those Fighting for the Narmada? It has been announced that the disbursal of compensation amounts of Rs 60 lakh and Rs 15 lakh to 681 families in Madhya Pradesh is complete, when fewer than half of the beneficiaries, the oustees of the dam, have received it. The 30 sluice gates at the dam site have also been closed since June 17 this year, allowing water to fill the reservoir.įalse claims have been made in the Indore high court about the provision of all basic amenities in 88 rehabilitation sites. For this, water was diverted into the Sardar Sarovar reservoir from unfilled dams, raising water levels to 129.64 metres and beginning the inundation of 191 villages and one township in Madhya Pradesh. The Sardar Sarovar dam was lit up and 2,00,000 people (comprising farmers, fishers, potters, pastoralists, Dalits and small enterprise holders) had to be submerged for the Narmada Mahotsav (and Modi’s birthday) to be a success. Courtesy: Narmada Bachao AndolanĪll preparations had to be complete prior to the function in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘gifted a dam’ to the nation on his birthday on Sunday (September 17). Protestors at the jalsatyagraha in Chhota Barda village.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |