NBA delegation meets PM, demands new resettlement plan

New Delhi, Mar 25 (UNI) A Narmada Bachao Andolan delegation met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today seeking his intervention for protection of 35,000 families they say are threatened with displacement owing to an 11 metre increase in the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam.

According to NBA leader Medha Patkar, Dr Singh said he would respond to the concerns in two days after consulting the concerned officials and the ministers for Water Resources and Social Justice.

The six-member delegation led by Ms Patkar apprised the Prime Minister of the government's poor record on the rehabilitation front, sought land instead of cash in compensation, challenged the financial viability of the project and claimed it had failed in meeting the stated objectives, including reaching water to villages.

The NBA demanded the Prime Minister's immediate intervention to stop further construction on the dam as it was a life and death matter for the families to be affected. A new resettlement plan also was needed for those affected, it said.

Nearly 350 farmers and NBA activists have been protesting outside the Water Resources Ministry since March 17 challenging the decision of the Narmada Control Authority to raise the dam height from 110.64 to 122 metres. The NBA began a relay hunger strike at the venue yesterday.

The protestors say the dam height is being raised even as those already displaced by the project are yet to be fully rehabilitated and resettled.

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