Permission to raise SSP dam's height hailed, but for lopsided canal

Ahmedabad, Mar 10: The permission to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) dam on the Narmada from 110.64 metres to 121.92 metres has been welcomed by a wide cross-sections of the society, including Gujaratis settled abroad.

The issue of increasing the height of the dam at Kevadia colony on the Gujarat-Madhya Pradesh border from 110.64 m had been held up for almost a year because of the non-clearance of Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) of Project Affected Persons (PAPs), mostly in MP.

The Narmada Control Authority (NCA) at its 76th meeting held yesterday permitted the Gujarat government to raise its height by another 11.28 metres (35 feet) following the completion of R&R work of the PAPs from the area coming under submergence under the reservoir behind the dam.

Expressing his mixed feeling of happiness and concern, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly Arjun Modhvadia said the work on the dam could begin only after the State government paid Rs 800 crore to MP government for R&R of the PAPs, making additional provisions in the supplementary budget demands.

The Congress leader expressed his satisfaction that work at the dam site could be resumed now for another 11.28 metres, but he feared the canal system is not yet to ready to carry the water to remote areras. Hardly 12.5 per cent of the total 80,000-km of the canal network is ready so far, he said.

Meanwhile, New Jersey-based Association of Indian Americans of North America has hailed the decision. Its leaders Sunil Nayak, Dhiraj Parikh, Suresh Jani, among others, said the success stories of Gujarat, inclduing SSP, would be highlighted outside India also.

Announcing the NCA decision yesterday, Chief Minister Narendra Modi said the work on the dam has been resumed by yesterday evening iself, as the men and machinery were kept ready at the dam site. 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 will store about 12.80 lakh acre feet (1,565 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.

UNI