In a letter to the prime minister, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed his resentment over the recent suspension of 400-Mw Maheshwar hydropower project and has termed Narmada Bachao Andolan(NBA) a major hurdle in the project.
The letter may trigger a fresh debate over the controversial dam hanging in balance for the last 18 years. The CM has termed the decision of suspension of work by the Union Ministry of Forests and Environment anti-development and anti-public.
He has written to the PM that Rs 2,500 crore on power house and Rs 517 crore on the Dewas and Indore urban drinking water supply projects were at stake and the decision of the ministry to suspend work on the project was one-sided.This decision, Chouhan has said in his letter, has dimmed the possibility of generating 0.72 million units of power and 36 billion litres of water supply to Indore and Dewas.
Meanwhile, an activist of NBA Chitrupa Palit said, “It seems the CM has been wrongly briefed about the project. The Centre has suspended the Act as per law.