Photo: Kumar at the Delhi Solidarity Group protest on June 13 against the Government’s decision to increase the height of the Narmada Dam. Photo by Intercultural Resources.
Within weeks of Narendra Modi becoming prime minister of India, the Narmada Control Authority has approved increasing the height of the controversial Sardar Sarovar Dam on the Narmada river in the western state of Gujarat from its current height of 121 metres to 138 metres.
The decision allows for the installation of gates on the dam. In 2012, New Delhi-based Blue Planet Project organizer Madhuresh Kumar wrote, “In the case of the famous Sardar Sarovar Dam, the gates of the dam have not yet been installed because authorities have failed to implement environmental and resettlement and rehabilitation obligations as required by law.”
Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar says, “A total of 193 villages (in Madhya Pradesh and 19 in Gujarat) would be drowned if the height of the dam is raised. The Narendra Modi government is not concerned about the people who will be rendered homeless.” Narmada Bachao Andolan (the Save Narmada Movement) is a social movement consisting of adivasis (aboriginal tribal groups), farmers, environmentalists, and human rights activists who oppose large dams being built on the Narmada river. Patkar says that the increase in the height of the dam would displace 2.5 lakh (250,000) people.
In 2003, Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke wrote, “During the past decade, the anti-dam movement led by the NBA in the Narmada Valley has become a symbol of the people’s struggle for water rights around the world. The resistance organized by villagers in the Narmada Valley, however, is not simply motivated by the displacement and resettlement caused by the construction of the dams. They are also protesting because these mega-dams destroy their traditional water-harvesting systems by creating river-killing reservoirs. The Narmada villagers know full well that they have a fundamental right to water as the essence of life. They also know that water can be provided from the valley for irrigation and drinking needs without constructing huge dams and destroying natural river systems.”
It has been reported that construction on the dam will begin after the monsoon season, which is between July and September.
The Narmada Bachao Andolan says it will fight the dam both in the courts and on the ground.
To learn more about the struggle against this dam, please see the 1-hour documentary A Narmada Diary which was made in 1995.
