People's Democracy

Reverse Decision On 

Narmada Dam: CPI(M)

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on April 4, 2006.

THE CPI(M) calls upon the central government to reverse the highly irregular decision of the Narmada Control Authority to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam in violation of the Hon'ble Supreme Court's decision of March 2005. The Supreme Court has expressly withheld permission to raise the height of the dam unless rehabilitation measures for those affected, mainly tribal families, were put in place.

The NCA permitted raising of the height of the dam without a single field visit or any other direct information of the status of the rehabilitation measures of those affected. In fact thousands of displaced families are yet to be rehabilitated. In such a situation, the decision to raise the height of the dam will further displace thousands of families in MP. It is essential to suspend the decision to raise the height of the dam and to ensure full rehabilitation of the displaced families before any such measure. (INN)