The Gujarat government will request the Narmada Control Authority (NCA) to allow it to raise the height of Sardar Sarovar Dam from the present 121.92 metres to full reservoir level of 138.68 metres by constructing pillars and installing radial gates.

According to sources, the government will make this request at a meeting of the NCA’s Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R & R) sub-group to be held in New Delhi on November 3. There, the government representatives will impress upon the R & R sub-group that it is because of the tardy implementation of the rehabilitation programme in the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra that Gujarat continues to be affected, said a senior official of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL).

The official told Newsline on Thursday that Gujarat has fully implemented the R & R programme by rehabilitating all its project-affected families (PAFs) for raising the dam height to 138.68 metres. But it is due to the slow progress of this programme in the two neighbouring states that Gujarat has not been able to raise the height further for nearly two years now.

He said that under the R & R package deal, Gujarat had given Rs 200 crore to Madhya Pradesh for purchasing land to resettle the project-affected farmers in that state. But, about 30 per cent of the amount was siphoned off, allegedly by MP officials engaged in the programme. The Madhya Pradesh High Court-appointed committee is inquiring into the alleged scandal, he said, adding that about 2,000 PAFs have become victims of this “fraud”.

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