Narmada Dam Project Totally Explained

Everything about The Narmada Dam totally explained

The Narmada Dam Project, is a project involving the construction of a series of large hydroelectric dams on the Narmada River in India. The project was first conceived of in the 1940s by the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. The project only took form in 1979 as part of a development scheme to increase irrigation and produce hydroelectricity.
Of the 30 large dams planned on river Narmada, Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) is the largest multipurpose project involved in the construction. With a proposed height of 136.5 m, it's also high on discord between the planners and the Narmada Bachao Andolan. The multi-purpose project will irrigate more than 18,000 square kilometres - most of it in drought prone areas like - Kutch and Saurashtra.

Benefits of the dam

The expected benefits of the dam as listed in the Judgement of Supreme Court of India are as follows:
The benefits expected to flow from the implementation of the Sardar Sarovar Project had been estimated as follows:

Irrigation: 17,920 km² of land spread over 12 districts, 62 talukas and 3393 villages (75% of which is drought-prone areas) in Gujarat and 730 km² in the arid areas of Barmer and Jalore districts of Rajasthan.

Characteristics

Drinking water facilities to 8215 villages and 135 urban centres in Gujarat both within and outside command.

Design Flood Control Capacity: 6.7 km³

Actual Flood Control Capacity: 5.7 km³

Annual Employment

600,000 man-years in post construction.

Protection against advancement of little Rann of Kutch and Rajasthan desert.

Flood protection to riverine reaches measuring 300 km², 210 villages including Bharuch city and 750,000 population.

Benefits to: ť a) Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary.

b) Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary in Little Rann of Kachchh ť c) Velavadar Black Buck Sanctuary.

d) Kutch Bustard Sanctuary(Great Indian Bustard) ť e) Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary.

Development of fisheries: Deepening of all village tanks of command which will increase their capacities, conserve water, will recharge ground water, save acquisition of costly lands for getting earth required for constructing canal banks and will reduce health hazards.

Facilities of sophisticated communication system in the entire command.

Increase in additional annual production on account of the dam

Agricultural production- Rupees 9,000,000,000, Domestic water supply-Rupees 1,000,000,000, Power Generation -Rupees 4,400,000,000 thus totalling Rupees 14,000,000,000."

Height of Concern

In February 1999, the Supreme Court of India gave the go ahead for the dam's height to be raised to 88 metres from the initial 80.

In October 2000 again, in a 2 to 1 majority judgement in the Supreme Court, the government was allowed to construct the dam up to 90 metres.

In May 2002, the Narmada Control Authority approved increasing the height of the dam by another five metres.

In March 2004, the Authority allowed another raise - this time to 110 metres.

In March 2006, the Narmada Control Authority gave clearance for the height of the dam to increased from 110.64 metres to 121.92. (This comes after the Supreme Court of India had refused to stay the height of the Dam again in 2003)

Criticism of the dam

The Narmada dam is India's most controversial dam project and its environmental impact and net costs and benefits are widely debated. The Narmada Dam has been the centre of controversy and protest since the late 1980s.
Some protests, known as the "Narmada Bachao Andolan" (Save Narmada Movement) have been led by Medha Patkar. The World Bank was a funder of the SSP, but withdrew in 1990. Spanner Films's documentary Drowned Out (2002) follows one tribal family who decide to stay at home and drown rather than make way for the Narmada Dam. Indian author Arundhati Roy wrote the extended essay 'The Greater Common Good'(link: http://www.narmada.org/gcg/gcg.html) in protest of the Narmada Dam Project in her book "The Cost of Living".
The Supreme Court gave clearance for the height to be increased to, but in the same judgment Mr. Justice Bharucha has given directions to Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (the Grievance Redressal Authorities of Gujarat) that before further construction begins, they should certify (after inspection) that all those displaced by the raise in height of 5 metres have already been satisfactorily rehabilitated, and also that suitable vacant land for rehabilitating them is already in the possession of the respective States. This process shall be repeated for every successive 5-metre increase in height.

Further Information

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