Complete Narmada rehab plans: SC

The Supreme Court today made it clear to all state governments benefiting from the Narmada dam that if they did not implement the relief and rehabilitation scheme "in the true letter and spirit" it would have no option but to stop further construction.

The Bench headed by the Chief Justice YK Sabharwal further clarified that the fact that the issue was before the court would not preclude the central government from taking any decision regarding the project.

The court adjourned the hearing till May 1 so that all parties before the court could give their written submissions within the next two weeks.

The orders were passed on an application moved by the Narmada Bachao Andolan, which had complained that height of the dam was going to be raised from 110 metres to 122 metres before the rehabilitation of thousands of families who would be ousted by the project had been completed.

Two judgments of the Supreme Court in 2000 and 2005, apart from several orders, had insisted that the governments should complete the rehabilitation work before raising the height of the dam. This has not been done, according to the Narmada Bachao Andolan. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are the two main states, which will benefit by the dam.

During the arguments the central government told the court that it was committed to the SSP on the Narmada and favoured constituting a committee to evolve a suitable mechanism to rehabilitate the people displaced by the project.

It pledged that oustees would be rehabilitated before August, the period of onset of monsoon. If the Centre was not able to complete the rehabilitation by then, it would come out with a temporary rehabilitation programme, which would be followed by a permanent one, the government said.

The court clarified that the construction of the project should go on side by side with the relief and rehabilitation work. It was essential to strike a balance when such a vast project was being carried out and a large number of people were affected, the court said.

"You cannot satisfy all but rehabilitation has to be reasonable and it requires a statesman-like approach," it said.

Agencies add: During the hearing, the court observed, "what is necessary is that the issue should not be discussed in an emotive and charged atmosphere but in a congenial atmosphere. Such type of dispute is a threat to public security".

The additional solicitor-general said there was a need to find a solution to the problem, rather that adding further dimensions to it.

"We are prepared and i submit that under the authority of the prime minister, there will be an authority to work overtime before submergence to rehabilitate the oustees. We feel that we may achieve that task in three months," he said.

Pressing for an injunction on the construction to raise the height of the dam on behalf of the NBA, senior counsel Shanti Bhushan said the rehabilitation work ought to have been completed 12 months before the submersion.

The court adjourned the matter, and will hear it later in the day.