Centre suspends Maheshwar project work-NBA

Bhopal, June 12: The Narmada Bachao Andolan today claimed that the Centre has suspended with immediate effect the ongoing work on the Rs 2400 crore Maheshwar Hydroelectric Project on the Narmada river at Mandleshwar in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh for violating the conditions of the environmental clearance.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest, vide its June 9 order, also sought from the state government a compliance report at the earliest, NBA acivist Alok Agrawal told reporters here today.

According to Mr Agrawal, MEF Joint Secretary R Chandramohan issued the directive to Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary observing that the construction work was started in violation of the conditions stipulated in the environmental clearance granted on May 1, 2001.

''The work will remain suspended till a comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation plan is submitted by the project authorities and the same is found to be implementable by the monitoring committee after its second site meeting'', the order said.

Mr Agrawal said though the work on the 400 megawatt project was stopped in 2001 due to failure to rehabilitate the oustees, the work was again started five months ago. Nearly 15 percent work had been completed, he added.

He said though the government had initially estimated resettlement and rehabilitation of 8,000 dam affected families, the NBA had found that about 20,000 families needed to be rehabilitated.

The cost of the project, initially estimated at Rs 465 crore, had escalated to Rs 2400 crore due to delay in its implementation, he added.

Mr Agrawal said the Environment and Forest Ministry suspended the work on a legal notice served by the NBA taking objection to starting the work without framing comprehensive resettlement and rehabilitation programme.

UNI