Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Saturday said the decision to raise the height of the Narmada Dam was done without pressure.
Commenting on the Narmada Control Authority's decision to grant permission to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Dam by 17 metres, Bharti said,"By increasing the height of Narmada Sagar Dam, it does not affect its continuous flow and its purity. In fact, on the other hand, it gets more strength, and the state gets more electricity. This was a unanimous decsion taken by the chief secretaries of four states, my ministry's secretary and the secretary from social justice ministry, as well as officials representing the Narmada Control Authority."
"This decision has not been taken under any pressure. In fact, the previous central government had done an injustice with the states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. It denied Madhya Pradesh electricty, and in case of Gujarat, it denied clean drinking water," Bharti added.
"Our government and the prime minister, and my ministry is committed in keeping the River Ganga's continuous flow and its purity. We are committed to not tinkering with the river's sancity, and hence, the same thing applies for the River Narmada," Bharti said.
