It is not being argued here that the answers to all the questions raised above are necessarily unfavourable to the project. However, these are relevant and important questions and we need authoritative answers. The government may say that all these issues have been studied, that the answers are known, and that it was only after a detailed examination that the project that decision was taken. If that is the case, all that material should be put in the public domain for examination. It is not enough for the government to satisfy itself internally. It must provide all relevant information and enable the people of the country (and there is a great deal of expertise outside the government) to judge for themselves whether a sensible or foolish decision has been taken.

The plea of this article, therefore, is: stop work on the project, put all relevant material in the public domain, allow a public debate, and then review the project in the light of the comments received.

The writer served as secretary of water resources in the Government of India