is the estimated cost of this part of the SSP ? How will it be financed ? How much energy will be required for the project? Has livestock water demand been considered? How will irrigation and drinking water be prioritized ? Have any alternatives been thoroughly considered? Close analysis seems to show that none of these questions can be answered at this point in time, almost 10 years after detailed project plans were drawn up, and a mere 10 years before the project is supposed to be complete.

Scale of Benefits

The Narmada Water Disputes Tribunal Award (NWDTA) (MAI 1979) did not mention any numerical targets for providing drinking water. Subsequently the number of beneficiary villages, urban areas and their population (in the year 2021) has been changing at almost every mention (Table 4). Even within the same document two different figures for number of beneficiaries can be found : 29.5 million vs. 32.5 million (Raj 1990). How the number of beneficiaries can change while the quantum of water allocated for drinking remains unchanged is a mystery that the SSP authorities are unwilling to solve.

According to the latest official information (NCA, 1992), 948 villages in Kachchh and 4877 villages in Saurashtra will get drinking water. However, according to the 1981 census, there are only 887 inhabited villages In Kachchh and 4727 in the 6 Saurashtra districts! The project authorities have simply listed as a target the total number of villages in all districts of Kachchh and