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| Work
of the Sardar Sarovar (Narmada)
Project at its full Swing |
Narmada
river is the 5th largest river in India and flows
from highlands of eastern Madhya Pradesh near Amarkantak
to the Bay of Camay in Gujarat, running 1312 kms.
And draining a basin of 98,800sq. kms. Passing through the
states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat the river
carries almost the same waters as those
of Ravi, Beas and Satlej of
Punjab put together.
Only
less than 5% of the Narmada
waters have so far been
harnessed almost entire average annual
flow of 41,000 MCM is going
into the sea. While such huge water
resource is being wasted without any use,
large areas in western Madhya Pradesh,
Gujarat and South Rajasthan continue to
suffer from droughts and floodwaters
are causing huge damages to the
life and property in Gujarat.
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| Tunnel
(SSP) |
It
was the late Sardar Vallabhabhai Patel who conceived the
idea of constructing a dam over the river Narmada in 1946-47
for the optimum use of Narmada waters for the welfare of
the Nation. After Independence, development of water resources
was considered a priority area. The late Prime Minister,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru described big dams as modern temples
of India. He laid the foundation stone of this project on
April 5, 1961. Subsequently, development plans for the Narmada
waters were discussed, controverted and finally settled
through adjudication by Narmada Water-Dispute Tribunal which
deliberated upon all possible options for nearly 10 years
and resolved the water dispute amongst the four states of
Madhya Pradesh,Gujarat Maharastra and Rajasthan. Under the
Inter State Water Dispute Act, 1956, the decision of the
Narmada Water Dispute Tribunal is final and binding on all
the four states and shall be given effect to. The Central
Government also agreed before the Tribunal to do its best
to implement the decision of the Tribunal. Thereafter, thorough
studies were under taken by experts of the Gujarat Government,
Planning Commission, Central Electricity Authority, Ministry
of WaterResources and World B and the project was prepared
to conform to decision of the Tribunal, viz. height
of the dam corresponding to 455 ft.
FRL, and 460 HEL and utilization
of the allocated 9.0 MAF
of water to Gujarat (slightly less than 1/3 of the utilizable
quantum of Narmada water) for drinking water supply,
industrial use and providing irrigation facilities. Besides,
there will be large benefits of drinking water supply to
rural and urban areas to at least 50 million persons in
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Madhya
Pradesh has been allocated major share of benefits from
Narmada waters.
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| Model
of the Sardar Sarovar-Narmada Project |
Benefits
in nutshell of SSP
Eighteen
lakh hectares of land will be irrigated annually in Gujarat
by the Sardar Sarovar Project Besides 132 cities and 7,234
villages covering entire Saurashtra, Kachchha and north
Gujarat will get drinking water. All villages in these three
regions having no source or inadequate source of potable
water will get Narmada waters to meet their full requirements
in the year 2021 according to the national norms. The project
will benefit a prospective population of 40 million in Gujarat
besides generating permanent employment to over six lakh
persons on completion. Rajasthan' s drought prone districts
of Barmer and Jalore will get irrigation (75,000 ha.) and
drinking water facilities. Maharashtra will get 27% and
Madhya Pradesh 57% share from the 1450 MW power generated
at the dam complex. There will be flood control benefits
a prospective pop
The
rehabilitation package offered by the project to the affected
persons is the most liberal policy deal presented so far
not only in India but, perhaps, in the world. The World
Bank has aptly described as a model deal for the developing
countries.
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