The Sardar Sarovar Dam (Narmada Project)

Amongst the 30 large dams planned for the Narmada Project, the Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is the largest.

Timeline of Narmada Project:

1961: PM Jawaharlal Nehru lays the foundation stone.

1964: A.N.Khosla Panel formed to resolve dispute between Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh over sharing of water and power from the dam.

1969: Madhya Pradesh does not accept the Khosla Panel Report; Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal formed.

1979: Tribunal gives final award.

1980: Work begins, but stopped due to protests by Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) against massive displacement of people and environmental destruction.

1996: Supreme Court stays project.

2000: Supreme Court allows resumption subject to the completion of the rehabilitation process.

2006: Gujarat CM Modi sits on a 51-hour fast as the UPA government refuses to give permission to raise the height of dam, citing incomplete rehabilitation work.

2014: Immediately after coming to power, PM Modi gives the final permission to raise the height to 138 m.

2017: PM Modi inaugurates the dam on September 17, 2017; NBA calls off jalsatyagraha, seeks proper rehabilitation of oustees.

The Dam:

• 138.68 m high
• Second biggest concrete gravity dam in the world after the Grand Coulee Dam in the US 
•  Biggest dam in the world in terms of volume of concrete used 
•  Third highest concrete dam in India after the Tehri and Bhakra Dams

Official claims of benefits from the Dam:

• Irrigation: 1.8 m ha in Gujarat benefitting 1 million farmers 
• Drinking Water: 9490 villages and 173 towns (30 million people) 
• Hydropower: 1,450 MW installed capacity (1 billion kWh every year) 
• Canal Network - Approximately 75,000 km length within Gujarat 
• Control of floods

Arguments of those who opposed the dam, its height, etc: 

•  Incomplete rehabilitation of people displaced from their lands 
• Loss of biodiversity and fertile soil due to submergence of land and forest     
• Overestimates of power production and irrigated land 
• Power required to pump water through canals may lead to net negative balance.
• The three main purposes - irrigation, power production, and flood control- conflict with one another.