The Hindu : Gujarat given permission to raise Narmada dam height

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 17, 2004

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Gujarat given permission to raise Narmada dam height

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 16 . Despite the Maharashtra Government's reservations, the Narmada Control Authority (NCA), which met here on March 13, has given permission to Gujarat to raise the height of the Narmada dam to 110.64 metres. At this height — depending upon the water flows during the monsoon months — power between 40 and 90 MW could be generated from the canal head power house. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat get 57 per cent, 27 per cent and 16 per cent of the power so generated respectively.

Sources indicated that Maharashtra wanted the dam height raised after it finished the resettlement of people to be displaced by the dam at the proposed height.

However, the NCA persuaded the State Government to give an assurance that the resettlement of the dispossessed population would go hand in hand with raising of the dam height. Maharashtra had said that it still had between 177 and 500 families who had been identified for resettlement. More than 10,000 people would be displaced at the altitude of 110.64 metres in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

An official press note today said: "After careful consideration of the clearances given by the Environment and Resettlement and Rehabilitation sub-groups of the NCA and fulfilment of the requirements as per the directions of the Supreme Court, the NCA permitted raising of the dam height further from the existing level of 100 metres to 110.64 metres."

The NCA was established to monitor construction, implementation of environmental safeguard measures and resettlement and rehabilitation of the project-affected families. It is chaired by the Union Secretary, Water Resources.

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