 | | PICTURE SPEAK | |  | | Decades of Discontent: Patkar at a rally in front of the Supreme Court on May 9; (right) the Sardar Sarovar dam | | The Narmada Bachao Andolan's (NBA) plea to stop the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam from being raised to 121.92m has been rejected by the Supreme Court. But that hardly deters Medha Patkar. "I will continue to fight for the cause of the people ousted from their homes and hearth without proper rehabilitation," the NBA leader says. "It's obvious that the Oversight Group appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (in May) is a move to count the bones and ribs of the people when breathlessness is what needs to be treated. The group has not consulted us till date." The Supreme Court order completes a cycle of response to the NBA over the past 20 years since its inception, during which time it has steadfastly opposed the completion of the dam under the Sardar Sarovar Project on one ground or the other, ranging from environment and resettlement issues, to the human costs involved. In the late-1980s and early-1990s, the NBA, under Patkar, was able to convince the Central Government and the World Bank to withdraw from the project. But changed circumstances-an arid Gujarat pushing for water, rising demand for power and a growing project cost-have persuaded the courts to look for a middle ground. In 2001, the apex court declared that the construction should continue but only after a monitoring committee furnished reports on the progress of relief and rehab (R&R) at every stage. "The same judgment," Patkar points out, "gave the prime minister powers to exercise his discretion and interfere where required. But he has failed to do so. I had to resort to a hunger strike (in March) to draw attention to the plight of over 4,000 families who will be displaced this monsoon." Patkar reels out figures suggesting that the governments of the four concerned states-Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan-whether under the BJP or the Congress, have consistently reneged on the promise to provide land in exchange for irrigated, arable land that faces submersion once the dam height is raised. It has taken more than 40 years for the dam to reach its present height of 110m, but Patkar feels it is at the expense of over 3,20,000 people. The NBA leader also has strong reservations on the viability of the project. "There is not enough water in the Narmada-the 28 million acre feet measured in 1975 is no longer valid. Most of it is used for drinking water projects and there's not enough left in the dam to move the turbines." But is there a way to quell the protests? "Three things," she says. "One, the Government should complete R&R according to the letter and spirit of the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Award. Two, the dam height should not be raised beyond the present 110m as there is not much to be gained in terms of power and irrigation. Three, the CBI should probe R&R scams." The ball, clearly, is in the Government's court. -By Neeraj Mishra
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RELIEF AND REHAB: The Government should complete its R&R work according to the letter and spirit of the Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal Award.
