NCA allows Guj to raise SSP dam's height to 121.92 m: Modi

Ahmedabad, Mar 9 (UNI) The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) has permitted the Gujarat Government to raise the height of the main dam of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) on the Narmada river at Kevadia Colony to 121.92 metres from 110.64 metres, Chief Minister Narendra Modi informed the State Assembly today.

Mr Modi said the permission to raise the height was received after the NCA's 76th meeting, held in presence of the representatives of the partner states, last evening.

He said the work on the dam has resumed immediately after receiving the permission, as the government had kept its men and machinery ready, to start the work without the loss of any time. It will require about 1.75 lakh cu m of concrete, costing around Rs 125 crore.

When the dam's height will reach 121.64 metres, the reservoir behind it could store about 12.80 lakh acre feet (1565 million cu m) of water, to bring an additional 3.50 lakh hectare of agricultural land under irrigation and generate 3,000 million units of power per year.

Describing the Narmada as the 'Lifeline of Gujarat', the Chief Minister thanked all the political parties, his predecessors and all previous governments and several non-government organisations for bringing the project to the present level, and said he was expecting similar co-operation from all the others as well.

The height of the dam will be raised ultimtely to 138 metres, including humps with sluice gates. The inter-state multi-purpose river valley project was being implemented by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNL), a wholly-owned company of Gujarat Government.

The work on the dam had to be stopped, after SSNL had raised the height up to 110.64 within three months' of receiving the permission from NCA a year ago.

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