Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) on Monday challenged a decision of the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) allowing Gujarat to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar dam by five metres alleging that rehabilitation measures of dam oustees had not been
implemented as directed by the court.
When counsel for petitioner Prashant Bhushan mentioned this before a bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice S N Variva, the bench directed listing of the petition for hearing on Wednesday.
A three-judge bench of the apex court by a 2:1 majority decision had allowed further construction on the controversial Sardar Sarovar dam only after obtaining of environment clearance as well as completion of rehabilitation measures for those persons
whose land would be submerged by the raising of the height of the dam.
The petitioner alleged that by raising the height of the dam from the existing 90 metres to 95 metres would further submerge large tracts of land and many villages even when the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have not yet fully implemented the
rehabilitation measures for previous oustees.
Asked what was the urgency in the matter, Bhushan contended that the authorities were planning to complete the raising of the height within 45 days before the onset of monsoon. The bench then posted the matter for Wednesday.
The Madhya Pradesh government had claimed that it has already rehabilitated people who would be affected by the raising of the dam height to 95 metres.
